The human form is a very mild viral illness, which invariably clears up within a matter of weeks without the need for any specific treatment. Symptoms include uncomfortable tingling blisters on the hands, feet and inside the mouth, just as in infected animals.
Sufferers also have a fever and a sore throat.
Simon Gregor, a spokesman for the Public Health Laboratory Service told CNN that while not serious, the symptoms would be unpleasant. It is understood that a slaughterman in Cumbria undergoing tests for the human form of the disease came into contact with fluid from an infected cow during an accident. He suffered no lasting ill-effects from the viral infection. It was suggested that he had an underlying skin condition which made him more susceptible to infection by the virus. Elsewhere in the world, the transmission of the disease to humans is equally rare.