Cattle are usually infected by inhaling the virus. Unfortunately, large amounts of virus are excreted by infected animals before clinical signs are seen, and winds can spread the virus over long distances. As a result one infected member of a herd can infect the whole herd while still appearing healthy. Fever and decreased milk production usually occur before the appearance of the vesicles. The vesicles break, leaving large raw areas which may become infected by bacteria.
Infected animals produce less milk and meat even after recovering from the infection.
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