ASI strongly supported USDA's decision to remove the Vermont sheep flocks. It is NOT the same as hand, foot and mouth disease, a viral condition that can affect infants and children. It is safe to eat meat or drink milk from FMD-infected livestock because high temperatures and pasteurization kill the virus. People are an accidental host of FMD and have only rarely been affected. Only about 37 cases of human FMD have been documented in the scientific literature.
Symptoms are flu like.
Mad cow disease, on the other hand, still presents the scientific community and society at large with more questions than answers. BSE has NOT been found in the U.S., thus it is impossible to quantify the risk here. Compare these with the risks you face every time you drive your car, operate machinery, smoke, chew tobacco, don't wear a seat belt or have a hand gun in your house. It has been around since the early 18th century. The name scrapie comes from the tendency of diseased sheep to scrape off their wool.