Visitors really should wear over-boots and have on protective clothing if they are going to get close to the animals. Foot and mouth is a highly contagious disease that does not affect humans. It can cause chronic illness in cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, domestic and feral or wild swine, and captive and wild deer, elk, bison and llamas. Infected animals may display lameness in conjunction with salivating and drooling. Lesions or blisters affect the mouth, tongue, muzzle, teats, mucous membranes and skin between the hooves.
Most animals do recover, however the disease can dramatically reduce performance and production.
Seventy percent of the time, foot and mouth comes from meat, especially pigs. Let me stress that foot and mouth doesn't cause a problem in humans, but it does in animals that consume tainted meat. Scharko said the FMD outbreaks in other countries are teaching the U.S. an important lesson in biosecurity on farms. Right now on flights coming in from England, announcements are made mid-flight about the potential of spreading foot and mouth and they urge travelers not to go onto a U.S. farm for five days. Scharko said the reaction and response to safety measures around the state and the U.S. has been positive.