Foot and Mouth Disease

Despite being caused by one of the smallest animal viruses, FMD is the most feared infection of domestic livestock; why is this so? There are three main reasons: 1) its facility for rapid spread is tremendous - it is often quoted as being the most infectious disease agent known; 2) its high morbidity - typically all members of a flock or herd of susceptible animals will become infected; 3) the loss of productivity associated with infection is about 25% - an unsupportable financial burden in modern farming practice. Its destructive potential has long been recognised and even in the 19th century considerable sums were invested in research into the nature and control of the disease. Because of this initial support and its continuation through the intervening years FMDV research has scored some notable goals in the advancement of fundamental virology. For example, it was the first animal disease to be shown to be caused by a virus, given the definition of a virus as an agent that could not be removed by filtration procedures recognised to eliminate bacteria. This early crucial observation has been followed by a string of milestone achievements in our understanding of the physical and biological nature of the virus and in methods for its control.

This book summarises our current knowledge of FMD and FMDV, all of the authors who contributed to this volume are key players in their specialist areas within the FMDV story. Some were heavily involved with the diagnosis and control that the outbreaks of 2001 occasioned and the book benefits from including contributors with first hand experience of recent events.