The disease is caused by a highly contagious virus, but people are almost never infected by the virus, and when they are it causes little or no illness. It strikes cloven-hoofed animals such as goats, pigs, sheep and cattle. Animals that get it develop painful blisters in their mouths on their teats and uppers hoofs. There is no cure for the disease, but not all animals that get it die.
Younger animals are more likely to die from the disease than older ones.
The animals are destroyed and burned, however, to prevent the spread of the disease, which can be economically devastating for farmers. Animals with the disease often lose so much weight that their value as meat or milk diminishes to nothing. Animals can be vaccinated against the disease, but the vaccine isn't foolproof. There are a variety of strains of the disease and vaccinations must be done every six months. Farm experts in Britain say the vaccines available at the moment may not have prevented this particular strain of the disease that has broken out across the country.