hoof and mouth

From:Cynthia Tily <cynthiatily@mindspring.com>

Susan,

It might be good to use an analogy here..  Hoof and mouth (or foot and
mouth) is a viral disease, just like influenza (aka. the flu). Although
there is a vaccine available, it is not effective against all strains of the
virus. Most people only fall ill for a few days when they have the flu( re:
a self limiting virus) but others suffer terribly and some even die.
Economic losses result due to missed work,hospitalizations,etc.
 The same is true of H&M in livestock,animals fall ill and some die.Those
that recover do not produce as much milk , muscling (meat) , or,as in
sheep,the quality of the wool suffers. Economic losses are very high.
The virus spreads in the air , on clothing, almost any way a virus can be
transmitted. It is therefore almost impossible to contain. Remember, it is
also zoonotic (infectious to humans). Unfortunately, to contain the virus
and prevent an uncontrollable outbreak animals must be destroyed. The
decision to do this is not taken lightly, as the loss of life also means the
loss of livelihood to those who raise the animals. If the folks could easily
and effectively vaccinate their animals,let me assure you it would be done.
No one likes what is happening and if there was another way, it would be
used. Let us hope the outbreak was caught in time to keep losses (lives and
livelihoods) ata minimum.

Cindy Tily,HTL  (and Animal Scientist)
Coll of Vet Med
Auburn Univ




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