Viral disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animal species and in particular cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. The horse is not affected by this disease and it is rarely transmitted to humans. It manifests itself by a high temperature, the appearance of purulent blisters inside the mouth and on the feet, the latter causing lameness. The disease is rarely fatal but the animal loses weight and produces less milk, causing significant economic losses. Because it is highly contagious, the appearance of this disease immediately triggers rigorous measures from health inspectors: quarantines of premises with a prohibition on the circulation of animals and humans, elimination and destruction of all the animals at the farm, whether affected or susceptible, protection and surveillance perimeters, draconian disinfection measures, foot baths, etc. Its appearance in a country immediately results in the closing of borders and the prohibition on selling livestock and meat from this country. These commercial embargos economically penalize the countries affected so everything is done to fight against this disease. Under the control of the World Animal Health Organization, which monitors the health status of the different countries as to foot-and-mouth disease, the battle against this epizootic illness is waged either by the elimination of the sources of contaminations or the immediate destruction of affected animals (the stamping out method), without any vaccination, or by using the preventive cattle vaccine. These two methods used to fight foot-and-mouth disease have led to dividing the world into two zones: • the “clean” zone, corresponding to the countries that do not vaccinate, North America (Canada and the US), the European Union, Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and Japan; • the “dirty” zone notably including South America (Brazil, Argentina) and Russia. However, within these “dirty” countries, delimited zones can obtain the disease-free status, with or without vaccination. This distinction between clean and dirty countries and zones is decisive for international trade: dirty countries and zones cannot export to clean countries and zones, with heavy consequences on the increase in the added value of food animals and the meat they provide.

foot-and-mouth disease