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PATHOGEN SAFETY DATA SHEET

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE

SECTION I: DISEASE / INFECTIOUS AGENT

SYNONYM / CROSS REFERENCE: Aphthous Fever, Aphtosis, Aftosa, Epizootic Aphthae, Hoof-and-Mouth Disease, FMD

ETIOLOGY / TAXONOMY:
Family: Aphthovirus
Genus: picornaviridae ^{(1, 2)}

• 7 distinct serotypes: A, O, C, Southern African Territories (SAT) 1, SAT 2, SAT 3 and Asia 1^{(1, 3, 4)}
• over 60 subtypes with varying degrees of virulence - new subtypes can arise spontaneously ⁽⁴⁾
• serotypes and subtypes differ significantly: cross-protection does not occur ⁽¹⁾.
• some biotypical strains become adapted to particular animal species (eg., porcinophilic strains) ⁽¹⁾.

ORGANISM CHARACTERISTICS:

• positive-strand RNA genome (~8500 nucleotides) ⁽⁴⁾
• non-enveloped, relatively smooth capsids of icosahedral symmetry, 28-30 nm in diameter ⁽⁴⁾

SURVEILLANCE :

• Foot and mouth disease is a reportable disease in Canada. Animal owners, veterinarians and laboratories are required to immediately report the presence of an animal that is contaminated or suspected of being contaminated to a CFIA district veterinarian. Control or eradication measures will be applied immediately (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3.3/fulltoc.html).

DISTRIBUTION :

• The status of FMD in Canada is non-indigenous.
• See OIE website for list of current disease free countries: http://www.oie.int/eng/info/en_fmd.htm#Liste
• the most transmissible viral disease of animals ⁽⁴⁾.
• RNA is infectious on its own when transfected into susceptible cells ⁽⁴⁾.
• FMD is highly contagious/ low mortality rate/ great economic impact worldwide ⁽¹⁾.
• The last outbreak in Canada was in 1951-1952 ⁽¹⁾ and in the United States was in 1929 ⁽¹⁾.
• There was a major outbreak in the UK in 2001 ⁽⁵⁾.
• FMD is endemic in areas of South America, Central and Southern Africa, and South East Asia.

SECTION II: ANIMAL HEALTH HAZARD AND EPIDEMIOLOGY

CLINICAL DISEASE / PATHOGENESIS:
1) Clinical signs :

• FMD is an acute systemic vesicular disease characterized by fever, profuse salivation and vesicles in the mouth and on the muzzle, teats, coronary band , and inter-digital space.
• Foot lesions are accompanied by acute lameness and reluctance to move ⁽¹⁾
• Additional clinical signs include depression and loss of appetite and milk production ⁽³⁾.
• Death in young animals may be due to lesions in the myocardium (tiger heart) ⁽⁴⁾.
• Vesicle rupture may result in ulcerations at site.

2) Infectious dose: as few as 10 infectious particles can produce disease ⁽⁴⁾.

3) Incubation period:

• 12 - 48 hours depending on the infecting dose, susceptibility of the host and virus strain ⁽⁶⁾
• typically 3-6 days in cattle ⁽¹⁾
• swine fed infected material develop signs 1-3 days - virus enters through oral abrasion or via tonsil ⁽⁶⁾
• cattle act as indicators, sheep act as maintenance hosts and swine act as amplifiers ⁽⁶⁾.

SOURCE / MODE OF TRANSMISSION / COMMUNICABILITY:
Endemic areas:

• Virus spread is by direct contact between animals moving as trade or nomadism ⁽¹⁾.

Non-endemic areas:

• Pigs are often first to contract the infection by ingestion of infected meat scraps.
• Virus spreads from pigs to cattle is via movement of susceptible livestock, contaminated clothing, people movement, farm equipment, abattoir waste, or further spread by airborne means ⁽¹⁾.
• Contact between infected animals or asymptomatic carriers and susceptible animals is the most common method of transmission ^{(1, 7)}.
• Virus spreads from one animal to another by inhalation and ingestion ⁽¹⁾.
• Virus can also penetrate through skin lesions ⁽⁴⁾.
• Animals, humans, inanimate objects, and animal products (meat, milk, semen, hay, feed, waste, etc.) can also spread the virus ⁽³⁾.
• All excretions and secretions from infected animals contain virus particles ⁽²⁾.
• The nasopharynx is the main site of persistence of the FMD virus (up to 2 years) ⁽¹⁾.
• FMD virus may also persist in the mammary tissue for up to 3-7 weeks ⁽¹⁾.

VECTORS: none

HOST RANGE :

• all cloven hoofed animals: cattle, swine, sheep, goats, buffalo and artiodactyl wildlife species ⁽²⁾
• elephants, hedgehogs, and some rodents can be carriers, although clinical signs are rare ⁽⁸⁾
• horses are not affected ^{(1, 3)}.
• camelidae have low susceptibility ⁽⁶⁾
• sheep develop less pronounced lesions ⁽⁶⁾
• mice, rats, armadillos, nutrias and capybaras are also susceptible ⁽⁶⁾

ZOONOTIC POTENTIAL:

• FMD can be transmitted to humans.
• The infection in humans is rare and mild (even among people working with infected carcasses). Vesicles may appear on hands, feet or tongue ^{(1, 3)}.
• Most human cases resulted from drinking infected milk, direct inoculation, or contamination of existing skin lesions or cuts ⁽³⁾.

RESERVOIR:

• Wild fauna may serve as a significant reservoir, especially the African Buffalo ⁽¹⁾.
• Ruminants that have recovered from the disease or vaccinated ruminants can carry the virus in the pharyngeal region for up to 2 years (cattle), 6 months (sheep), lifelong (African Bufflao)⁽²⁾.
• Pigs are not long-term carriers ⁽¹⁾.
• Strains can have predilection for certain species, i.e. swine not cattle, or cattle not sheep ⁽⁶⁾

Section III: DIAGNOSIS

NECROPSY / HISTOPATHOLOGY FINDINGS:

• vesicles and erosions in the mouth and on the feet and teats ⁽¹⁾
• gross lesions ⁽⁶⁾
• single or multiple vesicles ranging from 2 cm to 10 cm
• progression is from small blanched area in epithelium, to fluid filled area and vesicle formation - vesicles may coalesce with adjacent ones, vesicles rupture, vesicle covering sloughs leaving eroded area, grey fibrinous coating forms over erosion, coating becomes yellow, brown or green , finally epithelium is restored but demarcation line remains.
• a “dry” form can also occur with no vesicular fluid present - area becomes necrotic and ulcerates.
• feet - coronary band and inter-digital space affected, hoof shell may eventually slough.

SAMPLE SUBMISSION:

• Whole blood
• Serum
• Fixed and fresh tissues

All samples should be transported at 4°C.

For more information regarding the type of samples necessary for FMD diagnosis, please contact the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease:

LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS ⁽⁴⁾:

• tissue culture
• ELISA
• DNA probes and PCR (RT-PCR)
• virus isolation from tissue or secretions

DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: none

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS:
The following diseases may show clinical similarity to FMD.

• Vesicular stomatitis
• Swine vesicular disease
• Vesicular exanthema ⁽¹⁾
• Bluetongue in sheep ⁽⁴⁾
• Foot rot
• Chemical burns
• Contagious ecthyma in sheep ⁽⁶⁾
• Rinderpest in cattle ⁽⁶⁾
• Bovine viral diarrhea in cattle ⁽⁶⁾
• Malignant catarrhal fever in cattle ⁽⁶⁾.

SECTION IV: DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES

Select a registered disinfectant with a drug identification number (DIN). Use according to label directions for concentration and contact time. Consider organic load and temperature. It is recommended that laboratories evaluate the effectiveness of the disinfectant using a validated method (eg. Quantitative Carrier Test). See table 1 to help select a registered disinfectant for use against FMD virus.

Table 1 : Active ingredients considered to be effective against FMD virus.

PHYSICAL INACTIVATION:

• rapidly inactivated at temperatures above 50ºC ⁽⁹⁾, 56ºC in 30 minutes ⁽⁵⁾
• exposure to sunlight has little or no effect - any inactivation is usually due to secondary dessication or heat ⁽⁵⁾
• rapid inactivation at pH < 5.0 ^{(3, 9, 10)} and pH > 11 ⁽⁹⁾

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE OF HOST:

• up to 1 year in the environment and 10-12 weeks on clothing and feed ⁽¹⁾
• survives at low temperatures and when relative humidity is above 60% ⁽⁵⁾.
• survives in dry fecal matter for 14 days (summer), in slurry for 6 months (winter) ⁽³⁾, in urine for 39 days and in the soil for 26-200 days ⁽⁵⁾
• survives in frozen bull semen and in some fertilized ova, salt/cured meats, hides, dairy products, wool, leather, straw, hair and soil ⁽⁵⁾.
• in milk and milk products - can survive 70ºC for 15 seconds a pH 4.6 ⁽⁶⁾

SECTION V: LABORATORY HAZARDS FOR HUMANS

LABORATORY ACQUIRED INFECTIONS: None

BIOSAFETY PRECAUTIONS :
Contact with the virus from infected animals, their tissue or other virus containing products.

SECTION VI: PHYSICAL AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

CONTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS:
All physical containment and operational practices for containment level 3, indigenous agents, as per the Containment Standards for Veterinary Facilities must be met. The Standards can be accessed at : http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING:
Laboratory:

• A primary layer of protective clothing should include dedicated laboratory clothing (e.g. scrubs and headwear) and laboratory dedicated footwear.
• Secondary layer of protective clothing (e.g. solid-front gowns with tight-fitting wrists, 2 pairs of gloves) should be worn over laboratory clothing when directly handling infectious materials.
• Respiratory protection should be worn when directly handling infectious material outside BSC.
• A shower is required on exit.

Post Mortem:

• A primary layer of protective clothing should include dedicated laboratory clothing (e.g. scrubs and headwear) and laboratory dedicated footwear.
• Secondary layer of protective clothing (e.g. solid-front gowns with tight-fitting wrists, 2 pairs of gloves) should be worn over laboratory clothing when directly handling infectious materials.
• Cut resistant gloves, adequate respiratory protection, steel toed/steel shanked rubber boots should also be worn when handling infectious materials.
• A shower is required on exit.

HANDLING INFORMATION :
Spills in laboratory:
Spill protocol must be in place and include the following scenarios:

• spills inside the Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC)
• spills outside the BSC
• spills while performing aerosol generating procedures
• also consider entry and exit procedure modifications if necessary, appropriate PPE, disinfection of spill and surroundings including contact time, flow (pattern) of the clean up and disposal of contaminated materials.

Refer to Table 1 for disinfectant selection.

STORAGE: All cultures and infected material should be stored in leakproof, sealed containers that are accurately labeled and clearly identified as a biohazard risk. The access to infectious material should be controlled at all times. Records must be kept to describe the use, inventory and disposal of infectious material.

DISPOSAL: Decontaminate all infectious material prior to disposal. Use steam sterilization, incineration or chemical disinfection.

REFERENCES:

1. Radostits, O.M. Gay, C.C. Blood, D.C. & K.W. Hinchcliff. Veterinary Medecine, A Textbook of the Disease of Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Ninth Edition. W.B. Saunders Company Ltd. 2000. Pages 1059-1066.
2. The Merck Veterinary Manual. Eighth Edition. Merial Ltd. 1998. Pages 457-459.
3. Palmer, S.R. Soulsby, L. & D.I.H. Simpson. Zoonoses. Oxford University Press. 1998. Pages 319-321.
4. Sobrino, F. Sáiz, M. et al. Foot-and-mouth disease virus: a long known virus, but a current threat. Veterinary Research. 2001. Volume 32. Pages 1-30.
5. Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan. Disease Strategy: Foot and Mouth Disease. 2002.
6. Foreign Animal Diseases, United States Animal Health Association. 1998
7. Institute for Animal Health. Foot-and-Mouth Disease Fact File. 2003. http://www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk/schools/factfiles/FMD.htm
8. Acha, N. Pedro, and Szyres, B. Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and AnimalsAustralian Veterinary Emergency Plan. Operational Procedures Manual: Decontamination. 2000.
9. Second Edition. Pan American Health Organization. 1995. Pages 344-352.
10. Sellers, R.F. The Inactivation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus by Chemicals and Disinfectants. The Veterinary Journal. 1968. Volume 83. Pages 504-506.

LAST UPDATED (DATE): March 29th, 2005
PREPARED BY: The Biohazard Containment and Safety Unit, CFIA

Disclaimer: Although the information and recommendations in this Pathogen Safety Data Sheet are compiled from reliable sources, there is no guarantee, warranty or any assurance that the information and recommendations are correct, accurate, sufficient, reliable or current and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency shall not be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from or in connection with the use of or reliance upon the information and recommendations.

The user assumes all risks and responsibility for and shall be liable for the use of and any reliance on the information and recommendations and the results thereof and any loss or damage resulting therefrom.

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