Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals including:
- cattle
- sheep
- goats
- pigs
- camelids (alpacas, llamas, camels)
- deer
- buffalo.
An incursion of the virus would have severe consequences for Australia’s animal health and trade. Australia is free from FMD which allows favourable access to high value markets.
Transcript
Transcript
- [Cosi] Welcome back, folks. Foot and mouth disease is something that by now you've probably all heard of. But unless you come from the country, you might not know exactly what it is or why you should care about it. I think this is the biggest threat to Australian agriculture that I've seen in my lifetime. And it's something that, as someone in the media, I want to do my bit to make sure all South Australians are across just how important this is and that every single person watching right now, whether you're from a farm or from the city, needs to care about foot and mouth disease. So let's start off by answering this question: What is it?
- [Mary] Foot and mouth disease is a viral disease. It's highly contagious. It's exotic to Australia, that means we don't have it here.
(gentle music)
- [Cosi] Oh, hey, right up the front, we should clear this up. There are two diseases, but they actually sound the same, but they aren't.
- [Mary] A lot of people get confused. They hear foot and mouth disease and they confuse it with hand, foot and mouth disease. Hand, foot and mouth disease is a disease that affects humans, particularly young children. Foot and mouth disease is a disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals.
- [Cosi] These are alpacas, I love my alpacas so much. The little one at the back, the two-color one, I got that for my wife for Valentine's Day. She was actually spewing. She doesn't share my love for alpacas, but I really, really wanted it. Now when it comes to foot and mouth disease, a lot of people think 'cattle', like that's all you hear about, cows and foot and mouth disease. It's not the case. It's anything with a cloven hoof, like these alpacas. And a cloven hoof is basically where they've almost got like two toes. So it's not just cattle, it's not just alpacas, it's goats, it's pigs, it's deer, it's all of these different animals right here in Australia that foot and mouth disease would affect. And if we get it here in this country, it's going to be very bad news for these guys.
(gentle music)
Righto, what actually happens when an animal gets foot and mouth disease?
- [Mary] When the animals get this virus, they get a fever, and then they get what we call vesicles, they're fluid-filled blisters, and they're really painful for them as well. So in cattle, what we might see is drooling. They get a lot of blisters in their mouth. They'll also get blisters and these lesions on their feet.
(gentle music)
- [Cosi] What's super scary about this disease coming to Australia isn't the fact that it could cost our economy up to $80 billion, it's that thousands upon thousands of animals will either die or be destroyed. No one wants to see that.
- [Mary] What previous outbreaks overseas have shown is that the most likely way for foot and mouth to end up coming into a country is through meat products being brought illegally into Australia. So we're asking all Australians, and all travellers coming to Australia, to make sure that they leave everything in the country of origin that is a meat product. Those meat products, if they happen to be contaminated and were fed to animals, can cause the transmission of disease. The other thing that's really important is to clean your clothes, particularly your boots and shoes, making sure there is no mud on them, and that they are clean to present and show to the biosecurity staff at the airport as well.
- [Cosi] Yeah, look, I reckon that's a big one. If you know anyone heading to places in Southeast Asia, like Bali, there's about 200 flights a week heading to Bali from Australia, make sure you tell 'em they need to be super careful, and make sure they don't bring back dirty shoes or dirty clothes back, especially if they've been anywhere near farms. Aussies are great at banding together and that's what all farmers here in South Australia are asking us to do.
(gentle upbeat music)
Well done, Aussies, on keeping this horrible disease out of this great country. Let's keep up the good work. We want our pigs and other animals to live happily ever after.
Global detections of FMD
Several outbreaks in FMD-free countries have had large socio-economic impacts.
- 2007 – FMD occurred in the United Kingdom.
- 2009 – Taiwan ROC reported several outbreaks.
- 2010 – Japan and the Republic of Korea experienced large FMD outbreaks, which required extensive programs to control.
- 2022 – FMD was detected in cattle in Indonesia.
FMD is currently regarded as one of the most economically and socially devastating livestock disease threats to Australia. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) estimates that a large extended outbreak could cost Australia around $80 billion over a 10-year period.
Disease symptoms
Anyone keeping or working with cattle, sheep, goats or pigs should be aware of these signs of FMD:
- fever, drooling and reluctance to move in cattle, pigs, sheep, buffalo, deer, camelids and goats
- intact blisters on the mouth, snout, tongue, lips or between and above the hooves on the feet
- ruptured blisters exposing raw, painful tissue – blisters are only present for a short time and healing lesions may be more commonly seen
- limping animals.
Although FMD is rarely fatal in adult animals, it can kill young animals and cause serious production losses.
The severity of symptoms observed can vary depending on the strain of virus, length of exposure, age, immunity, and breed of animal.
There is no treatment for foot-and-mouth disease.
FMD is not the same as hand, foot-and-mouth disease, which is a common disease in young children.
Sheep and goats
Sheep and goats
The most overt sign in sheep and goats may be lameness. This will appear similar to endemic disease causes of lameness like footrot.
Close inspection is required to see some of the other signs of FMD. Affected sheep and goats may:
- seem depressed
- develop sudden lameness
- be reluctant to stand
- form blisters around the top of the foot and between the claws
- have lesions on the tongue and dental pad (hard to detect)
- result in significant deaths in lambs.
Pigs
Pigs
Pigs affected by FMD may:
- show lameness (the main sign of FMD in pigs)
- lose their appetite
- form blisters along the top of the foot, on the heels and between the claws
- have sore feet (affected pigs prefer not to move)
- form blisters on the snout which rupture quickly
- have abortions (affected piglets usually die).
Cattle
Cattle
Cattle affected by FMD may:
- show dullness and poor appetite (early signs)
- drool
- develop lameness
- develop blisters inside the mouth, on the tongue, cheeks, gums, lips and palate
- develop blisters between the claws, along the top of the feet, teats and udder
- produce less milk
- develop mastitis
- have abortions
- result in death for up to 50% of calves (deaths in adults are rare).
How the disease spreads
FMD spreads rapidly between animals and can be contagious for up to 4 days before clinical signs appear. The virus is excreted in:
- breath
- saliva
- mucus
- milk
- faeces.
Animals can become infected with FMD through inhalation, ingestion and direct contact. The disease spreads most commonly through the movement of infected livestock.
FMD virus can also be spread:
- by feeding prohibited pig feed to pigs
- on wool, hair, grass or straw
- by the wind
- by mud or manure sticking to footwear, clothing, livestock equipment or vehicle tyres.
Pigs are regarded as ‘amplifying hosts’ because they can excrete large quantities of the virus in their exhaled breath.
In sheep, the symptoms can be absent or very mild, which is a significant source of infection if undetected.
Cattle are highly susceptible to infection by breathing in small quantities of the virus.
In some animals, the virus can continue to be carried for months or years after apparent recovery.
FMD does not pose a risk to human health and is not a food safety concern. It cannot be transmitted to humans through consuming commercially produced meat, milk or dairy products. These products will continue to be safe to consume during an FMD outbreak.
National livestock standstill
A national livestock standstill is a temporary ban on the movement of all livestock across Australia. It is declared when there is a suspected foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Everyone in the livestock supply chain needs to understand how it works and follow the requirements of the standstill.
Read more about how a national livestock standstill works.
How you can reduce the spread
Livestock owners and producers must maintain sound biosecurity practices to prevent the introduction and spread of FMD. This includes:
- only buying animals from properties which have good biosecurity and disease control practices
- biosecurity control over people's access to livestock and equipment
- isolation (quarantine) of new animals before introduction into existing herds or flocks
- regular cleaning and disinfection of livestock pens, buildings, vehicles and equipment
- accurate and timely completion of National Livestock Identification System traceability requirements
- monitoring and reporting of illness
- appropriate disposal of manure and animals that have died from disease
- having adequate feed and water on-hand to hold animals if movements are restricted suddenly
- keeping property identification code (PIC) contact details up to date.
Australia's Veterinary Emergency Plan (AUSVETPLAN) contains the nationally agreed approach for the response to an outbreak of FMD.
The One Biosecurity Program provides SA producers with access to an online farm enterprise biosecurity plan that is ranked against industry standards through a star rating system.
If you are importing goods or ordering goods through the mail, check the DAFF information on what is permitted entry to Australia.
FMD virus can survive in fresh, frozen, chilled and freeze-dried foods, including meat and dairy products. It is illegal to bring these products into Australia without an import permit.
Visitors and footwear
Livestock producers should consider asking all visitors to their property to wash and disinfect their footwear in a footbath:
- Use a brush to remove debris.
- Wash and scrub shoes in detergent to remove dirt, mud, manure and plant material.
- Rinse and dip shoes in disinfectant.
The disinfectant will not work when there is organic matter in it. For more information, read FarmBiosecurity’s guide to making your own footbath.
Advice for travellers
If you have been travelling overseas, before returning to Australia make sure that you:
- clean your footwear, clothing and equipment so it is free of mud, animal manure and mucus – if they cannot be cleaned properly, then leave them behind
- dispose of all meat or dairy products – any leftover food served during your flight, or bought at an overseas airport, must be left on the plane
- declare on your incoming passenger card if you have visited a rural area or been in contact with, or near, farm animals in the past 30 days
- avoid bringing back souvenirs or other goods that are made of hide or feature animal hair
- declare and hand over any items that present possible risk to a biosecurity officer for inspection on arrival in Australia.
Biosecurity risks, including FMD, can be brought into Australia on goods such as:
- shoes, boots and clothing
- meat and dairy products
- camping equipment, including backpacks
- mountain bikes and other sporting equipment used in rural areas, markets and zoos, or near susceptible animals and have soil or manure attached.
People who have been in contact with FMD-infected animals or infected areas should not visit Australian farms or handle livestock for at least 7 days after returning to Australia.
Register your animals
All properties with livestock must be registered with a property identification code: