Foot-and-mouth disease is a notifiable disease transmitted by viruses that primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals.
What is foot-and-mouth disease?
Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects pigs and cattle. However, theoretically, most other cloven-hoofed animals are possible carriers of the viral disease. Thus, the highly contagious disease also affects goats, sheep, red deer and fallow deer. Other possible vectors are elephants, hedgehogs, mice, rats and humans. Symptomatic of foot-and-mouth disease are skin and mucous membrane lesions. The incubation period is 2 to 18 days, depending on the species. Although humans can also be infected by foot-and-mouth disease, the disease is considered an animal disease.
Causes
Foot-and-mouth disease is a viral disease and breaks out when the foot-and-mouth virus infects the host. Foot-and-mouth disease virus is a picornavirus, making it one of the smallest viruses. The pathogen is transmitted by smear or contact infection. Droplet infection is also conceivable. If a living organism is infected, small blisters filled with fluid appear, especially in the mouth area. These blisters, also known as aphthae, contain the pathogen, which spreads from there. Routes of infection can be animal products, clothing, or work tools. The pathogen can also spread through the air. In the majority of cases, the pathogen is ingested through the oral region, i.e., oral infection occurs.
Symptoms, complaints, and signs
The name foot-and-mouth disease already indicates at which body parts the typical signs of the disease occur. Initially, however, the disease presents classic flu symptoms. Possible symptoms are fever, headache, sore throat and aching limbs, poor performance and loss of appetite. A few days after the onset of these symptoms, the characteristic pustules develop in the mouth. These red spots appear mainly on the tongue, gums and oral mucosa or near the lips. They develop relatively quickly into small blisters or ulcers that hurt to the touch and fill with pus or tissue fluid as the disease progresses. Along with this, a rash also develops on the hands and feet. This also consists of red spots of varying size, shape and number. Initially, the rash is not itchy, but as it progresses, itching and pain develop. Blisters form on the reddened areas, which secrete a secretion. Affected areas are usually the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The red pustules can also appear on the buttocks, in the intimate area and on the knees and elbows. If the sufferer maintains thorough hygiene, the symptoms subside on their own after a few days.
Diagnosis and course
Foot-and-mouth disease causes only mild symptoms in an infected person, which are insufficient to make an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, to diagnose the disease, it is necessary to inform the physician about previous contacts with animals. In addition, a blood test is performed to detect antibodies. Analysis of the fluid in the resulting blisters can also provide information about whether an infection is present. In contrast to humans, animals that have contracted foot-and-mouth disease have very distinct characteristics. In addition to the typical vesicles, the disease is noticeable by an unusually strong salivation and high fever. Once an animal is infected, the disease spreads from the mouth area through the esophagus and into the stomach. The resulting pain causes affected animals to completely refuse food after only a few days. At the first sign of foot-and-mouth disease in an animal, a report must be made immediately to the responsible veterinarian. In humans, however, the disease is not reportable and is harmless.
Complications
As a rule, foot-and-mouth disease does not cause any discomfort or special complications. Humans do not usually react to this disease, so this does not result in a health-threatening condition for the affected person. However, the body itself can produce antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease. In some cases, those affected by foot-and-mouth disease suffer from the usual symptoms of a cold or flu-like infection.This results in fever, aching limbs and a severe headache. The symptoms themselves disappear relatively quickly in most cases and do not lead to complications or subsequent damage. For this reason, no special treatment by a doctor is necessary and there is usually a self-healing. Affected animals, however, must be kept separately so that foot-and-mouth disease does not continue to be transmitted. The symptoms can be reduced and controlled with the help of medication. Further treatment or the continued use of medication is not necessary in this case. Foot-and-mouth disease does not reduce life expectancy in humans.
When should you go to the doctor?
Since foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease, a doctor should be consulted at the first signs of the disease. Among people, children are usually affected by the disease. Sudden changes in the appearance of the skin indicate an irregularity that needs medical attention. If the symptoms occur in older children or in adults, a doctor should still be consulted immediately. If painful red spots form on the skin, there is cause for concern. The regions affected are the hands, feet and mouth. If the symptoms spread within a few hours, a visit to the doctor must be made. Rash and discoloration of the skin accompanied by itching should be presented to a doctor. If there is fever, pain in the throat and limbs, and a loss of appetite, the symptoms should be clarified. If there is a decrease in usual performance, social withdrawal or a loss of well-being, a doctor should be consulted. If children lose their enjoyment of playing or show other behavioral abnormalities, the observations should be discussed with a physician. Increased perspiration under the soles of the feet or in the palms of the hands are other indications of an existing irregularity that should be investigated by a physician.
Treatment and therapy
Treatment of foot-and-mouth disease is not possible in a diseased animal. To date, there is no therapy that renders the causative foot-and-mouth disease virus harmless. Since foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects animals that are kept in large numbers as livestock, it is essential to kill the animals at the first suspicion of the disease to prevent it from spreading. However, foot-and-mouth disease is not always fatal. Adult animals, in particular, can survive the disease if they are kept isolated from other infected animals. If a human becomes ill with foot-and-mouth disease, often no treatment is necessary. Symptoms are very mild and subside after a short time. In exceptional cases, symptoms such as headache and pain in the limbs or mild fever occur. In these cases, conventional medications are used to alleviate the symptoms. However, the majority of infections in humans proceed completely without symptoms.
Outlook and prognosis
In the case of a prognosis, a fundamental distinction must be made as to whom it applies. For humans, there are very good prospects of cure. These exist even if he does not visit a doctor at all. Complaints do not occur at all or are perceived as marginal. After about two weeks the disease is completely cured. The outlook for the diseased animals is the opposite. Since foot-and-mouth disease is not curable so far, all animals must be killed. According to legal requirements, there is also an obligation to kill livestock that has been in contact with the infected animals. Subsequently, the farm becomes a restricted zone. The carcasses must be destroyed separately. This is to prevent the spread of the disease by transmission. Scientific studies have shown that young animals in particular die from foot-and-mouth disease. Among them, the rate is about 70 percent, while 95 percent of adult cattle survive. However, these prospects are insignificant in view of the prescribed eradication of all possible risk animals. Moreover, the necessary isolation of the animals cannot be achieved in practice. Factory farming does not produce sufficient capacity.
Prevention
Foot-and-mouth disease breaks out in animal herds, where it may spread to humans. Therefore, when the disease occurs, prompt measures must be taken to prevent its spread.Affected animal farms are surrounded by a restricted zone, and diseased animals must be euthanized. Objects and people who have come into contact with diseased animals must be thoroughly disinfected. This is done using acidic disinfectants that kill the acid-sensitive FMD virus.
Follow-up
Provided foot-and-mouth disease has been cured with the attending physician, there is no need for follow-up care. However, affected individuals should avoid areas of infection in the future and generally aim for a healthy lifestyle. The weakened immune system will need a while after the acute treatment to regain its usual stability. A positive attitude can help the recovery process. For example, general fatigue and exhaustion may persist, which is why patients cannot fully participate in everyday life. They are therefore often dependent on the help of relatives and friends. Should unusual symptoms develop that increase a feeling of malaise, a physician should be consulted immediately.
What you can do yourself
In FMD, the affected person himself rarely needs special help, because the disease is very rarely severe in humans. However, every patient should know and consider for the benefit of others that foot-and-mouth disease is a zoonosis that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa. Whereby the disease is very troublesome and very painful for animals and often fatal. An outbreak of the disease in humans, unlike in animals, is not reportable. However, infected persons should still consult a doctor and also bear in mind that the disease, which they can transmit to cloven-hoofed animals, can have economically devastating consequences and destroy entire livestock populations. Cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and red and fallow deer are particularly affected. Horses and donkeys do not contract FMD. However, wild animals such as rats and hedgehogs can become infected. If FMD is suspected, an affected person should be sure to inform all animal owners with whom he or she has recently had contact. Those who keep animals at risk themselves should notify the veterinarian immediately and stay away from any animal species at risk of infection. These should not be fed, milked or petted to prevent infection. Pet stores as well as zoological gardens should also not be visited, as exotic animals can also become infected.
