Page Content
Foot and mouth disease
August 4 2007, FMD Outbreak in Britain - Media release by former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry advises that increased quarantine messages are now in place for all flights arriving from Britain, and passengers travelling from the UK.
What is it?
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a viral disease and is one of the most contagious diseases of livestock. It affects cloven-footed animals including cattle, buffalo, camels, sheep, goats, deer and pigs. The disease is generally most severe in cattle and pigs, but it is not a human health risk.
Where is it found?
FMD is widespread in parts of Asia, Africa and South America, with occasional outbreaks in normally disease-free areas such as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the Netherlands in 2001. Australia has been free of FMD since 1872.
What are its effects?
Although FMD is not very lethal in adult animals, it causes serious production losses and can kill young animals.
Early signs include fever, drooling and reluctance to move. Fluid-filled blisters appear on the tongue, lips, mammary glands, between the toes and on the feet. The blisters eventually erupt to leave raw, painful ulcers that take up to 10 days to heal. Foot lesions leave animals lame and unable to walk to feed or water; mouth lesions are highly painful and cause animals to stop eating.
Infected adults usually begin eating again after a few days, but young animals may weaken and die, or be left with deformities.
FMD spreads very rapidly between animals, particularly in cool, damp conditions or when animals are penned together during cold weather. An entire herd can be infected within 48 hours.
The disease can be spread by saliva, mucus, milk or faeces as well as on wool, hair, grass or straw, by the wind, or by mud or manure sticking to footwear, clothing, livestock equipment or vehicle tyres.
There is no treatment or cure, and eradication in previously free countries is usually based on the slaughter and rapid burial or burning of all susceptible animals on premises infected with FMD.
The virus is destroyed by heat, sunlight, low humidity or some disinfectants, but under favourable conditions can remain infective in a suitable medium (such as the frozen carcase of an infected animal) or on contaminated objects for many months.
What’s the risk to Australia?
The most likely path of entry into Australia is through the importation of infected animals or infected food. This is one reason imports into Australia of live animals, uncooked meat and dairy products from FMD-affected countries are subject to strict quarantine regulations.
The risk of FMD virus being transported on passengers’ footwear is relatively low; however, Australian quarantine law requires passengers to declare whether they have been on a farm or in contact with livestock. Their footwear, clothing, sporting or camping equipment may be inspected and cleaned if necessary to deal with any potential FMD risk.
Quarantine officers also interview passengers from FMD-affected countries to ensure they’re not carrying items such as meat or dairy products, straw packaging, or equipment used with livestock.
Australia has an internationally recognised capability to deal quickly and effectively with emergency animal disease outbreaks, but FMD would have very serious effects on Australia’s livestock industries.
An uncontrolled outbreak could lead to key beef, lamb and pork export markets being closed for more than a year; control costs would be between $8 billion and $13 billion, and the consequences of an outbreak would be felt for up to 10 years. Even an isolated, rapidly controlled outbreak could cost $2-3 billion to eradicate, with economic and social effects in other sectors, including tourism.
Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) fact sheet on Foot and mouth disease
Product Integrity/Animal and Plant Health information on Foot and mouth disease