The current controls have been imposed onthe grounds of animal health not food safety, because meat and other dairy products can be a vehicle for transmitting the virus to other animals. All fresh meat currently on retail sale will be unaffected by FMD and there are no implications for meats which have been cooked or processed. Milk and cheese and other dairy products may continue to be safely consumed. It is a highly infectious viral disease in which fever is followed by the development of vesicles or blisters - chiefly in the mouth or on the feet. There are 7 main types of virus, which produce similar symptoms and which can only be differentiated in the laboratory.
Infected animals begin by excreting the virus a few days before signs of the disease develop.
Pigs in particular produce large numbers of virus particles. Back to top Airborne spread of the disease takes place readily. The prevailing meteorological conditions and local topography determine the distance that the disease can travel and this may be considerable. For example, circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that the outbreak on the Isle of Wight in 1981 resulted from the airborne spread of the virus from Brittany in northern France. The disease is also spread mechanically by the movement of animals, persons, vehicles and other things, which have been contaminated by the virus.