[3] Its containment demands considerable efforts in vaccination, strict monitoring, trade restrictions, quarantines, and the culling of both infected and healthy (uninfected) animals.

Susceptible animals include cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs,[4][5] antelope, deer, and bison.

It has also been known to infect hedgehogs and elephants;[3][6] llamas and alpacas may develop mild symptoms, but are resistant to the disease and do not pass it on to others of the same species.

[3] In laboratory experiments, mice, rats, and chickens have been artificially infected, but they are not believed to contract the disease under natural conditions.

[citation needed] HFMD is also a viral infection caused by multiple viruses belonging to the Picornaviridae family, but it is distinct from FMD.

[4][14] Adult animals may suffer weight loss from which they do not recover for several months, as well as swelling in the testicles of mature males, and cows' milk production can decline significantly.

[20] Transmission of the FMD virus from carriers to susceptible animals is considered very unlikely under natural conditions and has not been conclusively demonstrated in field studies.

Also, it can be difficult to determine if an asymptomatic infection is neoteric or persistent in the field, as both would be apparently healthy animals that test positive for the FMD virus.

[citation needed] There is significant variation in both susceptibility to infection and ability to spread disease between different species, virus strains, and transmission routes.

[28] Daniel Rossouw Kannemeyer (1843–1925) published a note in the Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society volume 8 part 1 in which he links saliva-covered locusts with the spread of the disease.

An accurate understanding of the parameters of infectiousness is an important component of building epidemiological models which inform disease control strategies and policies.

[41] Countries designated FMD-free without vaccination have the greatest access to export markets, so many developed nations, including Canada, the United States, and the UK, work hard to maintain their current status.

Reasons cited for restricting export from countries using FMD vaccines include, probably most importantly, routine blood tests relying on antibodies cannot distinguish between an infected and a vaccinated animal,[42] which severely hampers screening of animals used in export products, risking a spread of FMD to importing countries.

The center, located 1.5 mi (2.4 km) off the coast of Long Island, New York, is the only place in the United States where scientists can conduct research and diagnostic work on highly contagious animal diseases such as FMD.

Causes for this include the high swine density in the area, with up to 6,500 hogs per square mile, feeding of pigs with untreated garbage, and the farms' proximity to slaughterhouses.

The epidemic of FMD in the United Kingdom in the spring and summer of 2001 was caused by the "Type O pan Asia" strain of the disease.

During April and May, it spread to suburban Beijing, the northern province of Hebei, and the Xinjiang autonomous region in northwest China.

In March 2010, Southern Rural News (Nanfang Nongcunbao), in an article "Breaking the Hoof and Mouth Disease Taboo", noted that FMD has long been covered up in China by referring to it that way.

[61] An infection of FMD in the United Kingdom was confirmed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 3 August 2007, on farmland located in Normandy, Surrey.

[68] These outbreaks caused a cull of all at-risk animals in the area surrounding Egham, including two farms near the famous four-star hotel Great Fosters.

In April 2010, a report of three incursions of FMD in Japan and South Korea led the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to issue a call for increased global surveillance.

[69] The most serious case of foot-and-mouth outbreak in South Korea's history started in November 2010 in pig farms in Andong city of Gyeongsangbuk-do, and has since spread in the country rapidly.

Korean serotype O viruses were divided into three clades and were closely related to isolates from Japan, Thailand, the UK, France, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore, as well as Laos.

[72] On 10 February 2011, North Korea reported an outbreak affecting pigs in the region around Pyongyang, by then ongoing since at least December 2010.

The Australian government has offered its assistance but remains unconcerned, considering the risk to the country's biosecurity to be low.

In 1996, endemic areas included Asia, Africa, and parts of South America; as of August 2007, Chile is disease-free,[79] and Uruguay and Argentina have not had an outbreak since 2001.

In May 2014, the FAO informed that Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru were "just one step away" from eradication;[80] North America and Australia have been free of FMD for many years.

However, in 2001, a serious outbreak of FMD in Britain resulted in the slaughter of many animals, the postponing of the general election for a month, and the cancellation of many sporting events and leisure activities, such as the Isle of Man TT.

Due to strict government policies on sale of livestock, disinfection of all persons leaving and entering farms, and the cancellation of large events likely to be attended by farmers, a potentially economically disastrous epizootic was avoided in Ireland,[citation needed] with just one case recorded in Proleek, County Louth.

[87] For the farmer, culling animals often results in financial devastation with no ability to honor existing contractual arrangements, thus facing the prospective loss of farm, equipment, and future earning potential.