It is a mild short lived, self-limiting disease. The Food Standards Agency has advised that the disease has no implications for the human food chain. The disease is not to be confused with the human condition Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, which is completely unrelated. Although domestic pets such as cats and dogs are not vulnerable to the disease themselves, they can carry the disease and help to spread it. It is therefore vital that dogs are kept on leads at all times and that walks are not taken adjacent to farmland in infected areas.
Infected animals begin by excreting the virus a few days before signs of the disease develop.
Airborne spread of the disease takes place readily. The prevailing weather conditions and the height and shape of the land affect the distance that the disease can travel and this may be considerable. For instance it is thought 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 directly by the movement of animals, persons, vehicles and other things, which have been contaminated by the virus. Meat from the carcase of animals infected with FMD at the time of slaughter can transmit the virus.