No Risk To Human Health From Foot And Mouth Disease - HPA

HPA Press Statement on Foot and Mouth Disease There is no risk to human health from foot and mouth disease. The Food Standards Agency advises that foot and mouth disease has no implications for the human food chain and that there are no reports of infection from pasteurised milk Foot and mouth disease should not be confused with the human condition 'hand foot and mouth'. This is an unrelated and usually mild viral infection principally affecting children and due to an entirely different virus. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, other farmed mammals and wild ruminants, and is one of the most important diseases of livestock. Very few human infections have ever been described, despite regular exposure of humans to infections in livestock throughout the world. Cases that have been reported have been mild and self-limiting, no human to human transmission has ever been reported, and FMD is not transmitted to humans through the food chain. FMD is therefore not a public health threat.

More from

• Vet-founded charity looking to support talented youngsters
• Virbac Confirms Immediate UK Availability of Syvazul BTV 8 Vaccine for Livestock Protection
• Oxford veterinary practice unleashes its full potential with major expansion to celebrate 20th anniversary
• Crufts volunteer vet team donates £1,000 to ProSalus Foundation appeal to support Ukrainian veterinarians
• 'Tax law changes could land your practice with someone else's bills', warns vet founder