foot-and-mouth disease (redirected from Foot-and-mouth)

foot-and-mouth disease

n.

An acute, highly contagious degenerative viral disease of cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals, characterized by fever and the eruption of vesicles around the mouth and hoofs. Also called hoof-and-mouth disease.

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foot-and-mouth disease

an extremely contagious, acute disease of all cloven-footed animal species. It is caused by members of the genus Aphthovirus in the family Picornaviridae which has seven serotypes and at least 80 subserotypes. Clinically there is a syndrome of fever and vesicular lesions in the mouth and around the coronets. The first sign is often lameness. Spread is very rapid and the virus is very resistant so that the infection is readily transmitted on inanimate objects. The virus can also be transmitted over several miles by wind-borne carriage of aerosol infection from respiratory excretion of the virus. It is not fatal except occasionally in calves and young piglets, where it also produces a myocarditis, but herd productivity is reduced disastrously. A disease notifiable to the OIE (see Table 24). Controlled with a slaughter eradication policy in most countries, but the outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2001 indicates that this policy has limited public support. Called also FMD, aftosa.

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foot-and-mouth disease m. d. virus (FMDV)

a picornavirus, seven serotypes, at least 80 subtypes, affecting all ruminants, pigs, hedgehogs and elephants. The virus is extremely acid-labile but survives well in offal, particularly glandular tissue and bone marrow which were commonly fed as garbage to pigs resulting in outbreaks of disease.