Officials also are worried that humans might inadvertently bring the disease into the country through soil or organic material on shoes. The virus can also be carried in human nasal passages, where it can survive for at least a week. The commissioner also recommends that state farmers not allow anyone on their property who has recently come from an infected country and that farmers take disinfectant foot baths as a precautionary daily routine. Many agricultural areas in England are now off-limits to tourists and some British farms are even cordoned off with police tape. Other symptoms in stricken animals include drooling and a reluctance to bear weight on their feet.
Diseased animals run fevers, lose their appetites, stop producing milk and become lame.
The disease can be fatal to animals, especially newborns. It does not affect humans and fully cooked meat from infected animals is safe to eat. Because there are several strains and many sub-types of the highly contagious virus, vaccines are not considered an effective remedy. But deer herds are small in Europe and have not contributed to the spread of the disease there. The last outbreak of the disease in the United States occurred in 1929.