In the same letter, the Governor appointed Ellen Gordon, Emergency Management Division Administrator, as the primary contact in Iowa for coordinating activities with federal agencies on this matter. Background FMD is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals. FMD is characterized by blisters or vesicles between the toes, in the mouth, on the tongue, lips and teats.
Affected animals have a fever in the early stages of the disease.
Mortality rates are not high, but affected animals show rapid weight loss, precipitous drop in milk production, and very slow recovery. Heat, low humidity, or some disinfectants can kill off the FMD virus. There is no cure for the disease, and it usually runs its course in two or three weeks with most animals recovering, although some animals take up to six months to fully recover. Because of the severe effects on production and its ability to spread rapidly, FMD is one of the foreign animal diseases that is most feared by veterinarians and livestock producers. If the disease became widespread in the United States there would be disastrous economic consequences.