Review on Foot and Mouth Disease

Ethiopia is a leading country in the number of livestock population in the African content and Livestock play a great role in the country economy. However, our country is not using from her livestock as much expected due to many animal diseases circulating in animal population. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review on Foot and mouth disease. Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is one of the animal diseases which cause threat to our livestock; an acute systemic infection affecting cloven hoofed animal species. The main route of infection of ruminants such as cattle is the inhalation of airborne virus, but infection via alimentary tract or skin lesions is also possible. Some of the clinical symptoms of FMD include fever, anorexia, weight loss, lameness, salivation and vesicular lesions (mouth and skin). Larger host range always supports fast spread of disease with more chance of the antigenic diversity and hence makes the control programme a tedious task. Diagnosis of FMD is by Clinical signs, and in a laboratory by virus isolation, demonstration of the FMD viral antigens or nucleic acid in a sample tissue or fluid. To control FMD effectively, there is need of good infrastructure, trained veterinary staff, well equipped laboratories, good governance, rapid and accurate diagnostics, rapid response measures, continuous monitoring and surveillance, and compulsory vaccination.