Foot and Mouth Disease

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, other farmed mammals and wild ruminants, and is one of the most important diseases of livestock. Very few human infections have ever been described, despite regular exposure of humans to infections in livestock throughout the world. Cases that have been reported have been mild and self-limiting, no human to human transmission has ever been reported, and FMD is not transmitted to humans through the food chain. FMD is therefore not a public health threat.

For more information on foot and mouth disease in animals including the current outbreak in Surrey and control measures, see the Defra website:http://www.defra.gov.uk/footandmouth/about/index.htm