With foot and mouth disease now in Indonesia, Australia is on alert. What is the disease, and why are the stakes so high?
It’s the highly contagious disease that wrought havoc in the United Kingdom two decades ago. Now, viral fragments of foot and mouth disease have been detected in goods coming into Australia.
It’s a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, camels, deer and pigs. It spreads among animals through contact with contaminated feed and excretions such as faeces, semen and milk. But it can also be spread through mud or manure sticking to farming equipment, vehicles, clothing and leather, including shoes, as well as on hair, grass and straw, and in the air. It can survive in people’s noses for up to 24 hours.
Blisters in the mouth can lead to an animal becoming reluctant to eat and blisters on the feet can lead to an animal being unable to walk to food and water and even becoming lame. There’s also the risk of secondary infections in lesions, particularly on the teats of lactating animals. The disease in humans is extremely rare, usually resulting in mild, blister-like lesions and not causing serious illness. People can be infected through open skin wounds by handling diseased animals, or through the mouth lining by drinking infected milk.Foot and mouth disease is not to be confused with a similar-sounding ailment – human hand, foot and mouth disease, which causes rashes, ulcers, bumps or blisters in the mouth, palms, fingers and soles of feet, mostly in children.
Unlike the UK, Australia has tens of millions of feral animals that can spread foot and mouth disease, including 24 million pigs and 6 million goats. Infected feral animals are uncontained and could, potentially, spread the disease between farms even if movements of farmed livestock have been locked down.
Its detection and spread on the island of Bali has raised particular concerns here. Most of the 46,000 international visitors to Bali from January to April were from Australia, according to Bali’s Tourism Office.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What is foot and mouth disease and can humans get it?We’re still disease-free here in Australia, but with FMD on our doorstep, here’s what you should know. 9News
Read more »
What is foot and mouth disease? Can humans catch it?With foot and mouth disease now in Indonesia, Australia is on alert. What is the disease, and why are the stakes so high?
Read more »
What is foot and mouth disease? Can humans catch it?With foot and mouth disease now in Indonesia, Australia is on alert to stop it spreading here. What is the disease, and why are the stakes so high? | EXPLAINER by Millie Muroi FootAndMouthDisease
Read more »
What is foot and mouth disease? Why farmers fear ‘apocalyptic bonfires of carcasses’Australia’s livestock industry remains on edge after fragments of foot and mouth disease were detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer on Wednesday. 7NEWS
Read more »
Australia news live: Covid mask warnings, foot-and-mouth disease threat risesFollow the day’s news, live
Read more »
Foot and mouth disease detected in meat products in AustraliaThe devastating livestock disease is sweeping across Bali and poses an $80 billion economic threat to Australia.
Read more »