FMD is not considered a public health problem. Pigs are not carriers. Fever and decreased milk production usually precede the appearance of vesicles. The vesicles rupture, leaving large denuded areas which may become secondarily infected. In pigs, sheep and goats the clinical signs are similar but milder.
Lameness is the predominant sign.
Because of the range of species affected, the high rate of infectivity, and the fact that virus is shed before clinical signs occur, FMD is one of the most feared reportable disease in North America. The significance of many other reportable diseases is due to their resemblence to FMD and the importance of distinguishing between them at the earliest indications of an unusual disease outbreak.