Foot and mouth disease virus: a tiny germ with a big impact

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Foot and mouth disease, or FMD, is a sickness that hurts animals like cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. It’s caused by a really tiny germ called the foot and mouth disease virus. This virus is so small you can’t see it, but it can cause huge problems for farmers and animals.

When an animal gets this virus, it starts to feel sick. It can get a fever, drool a lot, and get blisters in its mouth and on its feet. The blisters hurt, so the animals don’t eat or walk. Even though most animals don’t die from FMD, they still lose weight and can’t give milk or meat like they used to.

People don’t usually get sick from this virus, but it spreads very easily between animals. It can spread through spit, milk, poop, or even on people’s shoes or clothes if they’ve been near a sick animal. The virus can live for days on things like hay, boots, and fences, so it’s really hard to stop once it starts. For farmers, FMD is really bad news, if one animal on a farm gets sick, the whole farm might have to close. Sometimes the animals have to be killed to stop the virus from spreading. That means farmers lose money, and product, being milk, meat, eggs, etc.

In 2001, there was a big FMD outbreak in the United Kingdom, where millions of animals were killed, and farms lost lots of money. Even though that was a long time ago, farmers still talk about how bad it was. Scientists work hard to make vaccines to keep animals safe from FMD. Vaccines help animals fight the virus if they ever get it, but the tricky part is that there are seven kinds of this virus, and each one is a little different, some seven different vaccines have to be made. This is why scientists are always studying FMD. They’re trying to make better vaccines that protect against more types and last longer. They’re also working on faster tests so farmers can find out right away if their animals have the virus. Some of these new tests can find the virus in just a few minutes. There are some countries that don’t have FMD anymore, but others are still really suffering from FMD, especially in parts of Asia, Africa, and South America.

Farmers must clean their boots, tools, and trucks, and they check their animals often. If they see drooling or sores on animals’ feet or mouths, they call a vet right away. FMD might just sound like another animal sickness, but it can hurt farmers, animals, and even the food supply. A virus this tiny can cause really big problems if people don’t watch out for it.

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I'm Edgar Gonzalez, a junior at Poudre High School. This is my first year writing for the Poudre Press. In my column, I cover topics about animal viruses. I also wrestle for Poudre High School. When I graduate from Poudre High School I want to work in the trades as either an Electrician or a Plumber.