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Foot and Mouth Disease Alert . . .
Provided by the Maryland Department of Agriculture
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Foot and Mouth Disease Alert for Owners of Cattle, Swine, Sheep, Goats, and other Cloven-hoofed Livestock
The United States has been free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) since 1929 and remains so today because of restrictions on importation of livestock and certain products from affected countries and continuous vigilance by USDA and state animal health authorities. However, at this time the U.S. and Maryland are facing the greatest threat to animal health in recent history. The devastating outbreak which began in February in the United Kingdom continues to spread there and into other European Union countries. Meanwhile a slightly different from of the disease has reappeared in Argentina and Colombia.
The number of international travelers, the speed at which they travel, and the ever growing volume of trade in materials and products on which the FMD virus can survive all place our invaluable livestock industries at an extremely high and unacceptable level of risk. Therefore, USDA and MDA are pursuing every opportunity to provide useful information to minimize the risk, prevent introduction of the disease, and immediately recognize the first case that might appear here in order to stamp it out before it can spread. Education and accurate, timely information are key factors in this effort, so some essential facts are listed below:- FMD Does not affect people except in extremely rare cases when individuals have been exposed to unusually high numbers of viruses in laboratory settings. Even those cases have been very mild.
- The greatest risk factor for international spread of the disease is by uninformed travelers and their pets who have been in rural areas. They can carry the virus on clothes, footwear, cameras, etc., and especially in uncooked meat products. Except as noted above, the virus does not survive on or in the body for more than a few days.
- FMD virus behaves in horses, companion animals, and others without cloven hooves as it does in humans. Any such potentially exposed animals imported into the U.S. must avoid American farms for five days and also be treated with appropriate disinfectants.
- There is no relationship between FMD and BSE (“mad cow disease”) except that they have coincidentally been present in some of the same locations.
- Symptoms in animals do not appear until 3-14 days after exposure to the virus. The disease may have a two week lead period before anyone recognizes a problem.
What can Maryland livestock owners do to reduce the risk of FMD?- Limit access to your farm to a single entry point and identify any and all visitors including service people, those delivering supplies, etc. Determine if they have been abroad in the past week, if they have visited an FMD affected country, and if they have been on farms, golf courses, rural parks, or rural bed & breakfast inns. If so, deny them entry to your farm, especially to areas occupied by your livestock, or at least insist that they wear disposable footwear or clean boots disinfected upon arrival and departure.
- For all others: Do not allow access to areas occupied by livestock unless they wear proper footwear. Do not allow hikers, cyclists, horse back riders, hunters or others to roam around pasture land.
- If you visit other farms, auction markets, livestock shows or fairs, etc., follow the same precautions that you demand of visitors.
- Consider requiring disinfection of wheels and tires of vehicles (including your own) entering your farm, especially those that have been on other farms or exposed to other livestock. If unloading animals, do so away from your barns, paddocks, dry lots, or pasture.
- Isolate newly purchased livestock or those returning from shows or fairs from your other stock for two weeks.
- Observe all of yor animals at least daily. If lameness, foot soreness, drooling, decreased appetite, sores or blisters on the feet, mouth, or teats appear, IMMEDIATELY call your own veterinarian, the State Veterinarian, 410-841-5810, or USDA Veterinarian in Charge, 410-349-9684. They would rather respond to 50 false alarms than to miss on actual case of FMD.
If you detect mouth problems, check the feet. If you detect foot problems, check the mouth. If you detect both, THINK FMD!
Other Sources of Information and Assistance
Hot Lines:
| USDA Emergency Operations Center | | 1-800-601-9327 | | USDA Information for International Travelers | | 1-866-723-4827 |
Websites:
www.mda.state.md.us (incudes links to USDA)
www.usda.aphis.gov/oa/fmd/index.html
Maryland Department of Agriculture:
| State Veterinarian, Dr. Roger Olson | | 410-841-5810; Home: 301-662-8688 | | Ass’t State Veterinarian, Dr. John Kelley | | 410-841-5810; Home: 301-473-4630 | | Centreville Animal Health Lab | | 410-758-0846 | | College Park Animal Health Lab | | 301-935-6074 | | Frederick Animal Health Lab | | 301-663-9528 | | Oakland Animal Health Lab | | 301-334-2185 | | Salisbury Animal Health Lab | | 410-543-6610 | | Central MD Field Vet., Dr. David Booth | | 410-857-1222 | | *Eastern Shore Field Vet., Dr. Maurice Clarke | | 410-572-6861 |
USDA\APHIS\Veterinary Services, Annapolis:| *Area Veterinarian in Charge, Dr. David Vogt | | 410-349-9684 | | *Veterinary Medical Officer, Eastern Shore, Dr. Kent Holm | | 410-279-3039 | | *Veterinary Medical Officer, Western Shore, Dr. Freeda Isaac | | 410-279-3041 |
*Designated Foreign Animal Disease Diagnosticians.
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