Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD): Signs and Lab Confirmation

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD, khurpka-muhpka in Hindi) is a very contagious viral disease of cows, buffaloes and other animals with split hooves. It is a notifiable disease, so tell your vet and the animal husbandry department at once if you suspect it, and PCR and ELISA tests can help confirm it.

What is FMD?

FMD is caused by a virus. It spreads very fast through a herd and from farm to farm. Cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs can all catch it.

FMD is not the same as the hand, foot and mouth disease of children. FMD rarely affects people.

Most adult animals recover, but they can lose condition and milk for a long time. Young calves may die suddenly. The virus has several types, and protection against one type may not cover the others.

The virus spreads through:

• close contact, breath, saliva, milk, dung and urine
• shared water troughs, grazing land, markets and transport vehicles
• people's hands, clothes and footwear, and also equipment and bedding

An infected animal can spread the virus even before blisters appear.

Signs to look for

• fever, often the first sign
• drooling, with frothy or stringy saliva and lip smacking
• blisters on the tongue, gums, lips and nose
• blisters between the toes and above the hooves
• blisters on the teats
• raw, painful sores where the blisters have burst
• eating less, limping, or not wanting to stand and walk
• a sharp fall in milk

Other conditions can also cause mouth sores or lameness. These include some other viral diseases, foot infections, and injury from rough feed, plants or chemicals. A vet can tell them apart with an examination and tests, so signs alone are not enough.

If you suspect FMD

FMD is a notifiable disease. This means suspected cases should be reported to the authorities. Reporting matters because FMD spreads so fast, and early reporting helps the authorities protect other farms and villages.

Do these things first:

• Call your vet and inform the local animal husbandry (veterinary) department.
• Keep sick animals apart from the herd.
• Do not move, sell or take any animal to a market.
• Do not take a sick animal to a clinic or lab. Ask the vet to come to your farm.
• Keep visitors and vehicles away from the herd.
• Look after healthy animals first and sick animals last. Wash your hands and change footwear and clothes afterwards.

Tell your vet how many animals are sick, when the signs began and which animals fell sick first. Also mention any new animals, market visits or visitors, and the dates of the last vaccination. Your vet will guide you on care, and the animal husbandry department may advise on any official steps.

How lab tests help confirm FMD

The FMD (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) Test - RT-PCR / ELISA uses two methods.

• PCR can help detect the genetic material of the virus. It is done on fluid or skin lining from a blister, or on a swab.
• ELISA is done on serum, the clear liquid from clotted blood. It looks for antibodies, which are proteins the body makes against a germ. Antibodies can also come from vaccination, so your vet reads the result together with the vaccination record.

PCR is most useful early in the illness, when the virus is present in the blisters. Antibodies take some days to appear, so a serum test very early in the illness may be negative. Fresh material from a new blister is the most useful sample. Old, dried sores may not give a clear answer. Your vet may repeat the test or take another type of sample.

Samples for FMD should be taken by a veterinarian in protective clothing and packed so that nothing can leak. Do not carry samples through crowded places. Call or WhatsApp +91 88175 01118 before you send anything, so the team can tell you how to pack and send it. Reporting time is confirmed when you book.

Protecting your herd

• Vaccination is the main way to protect animals. Ask your vet or the animal husbandry department about the schedule in your area, because the vaccine has to be repeated.
• Keep a record of vaccination dates for each animal. It helps your vet read test results.
• Keep new animals apart from the herd for the time your vet advises.
• Limit visitors, and keep your animals away from other farms' animals.
• Clean sheds and equipment regularly.

The Herd Screening Pack groups the FMD test with brucellosis, tick fever and worm checks. For the full list of farm tests for Cow and Buffalo, read Lab Tests Every Dairy Farmer Should Know About.

When to talk to your vet

Talk to your vet at once if an animal has fever with drooling, mouth blisters or sudden lameness, or if several animals fall sick together. A calf that suddenly collapses also needs urgent attention.

A lab result is not a diagnosis on its own. A registered veterinarian reads it together with the animal's signs and history.