6 August 2025

3 minute read

By: Chris Wright

Editor's note: The following is from a report by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), in The State of the World’s Animal Health 2025¹

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease, affecting cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. Although it is rarely fatal in adult animals, the disease can be catastrophic for young animals, causing inflammation of the heart muscle or death due to the inability of infected dams to produce milk.

Symptoms in infected animals include fever, blister-like sores on the tongue, lips, mouth and between the hooves – leading to severe production losses and weakened animals. While most affected animals eventually recover, the economic impact of the disease can be devastating.

Among the most effective tools in disease control, vaccination has played a pivotal role in reducing outbreaks and maintaining FMD-free status. Together with other measures, vaccination has proven to be a vital tool in protecting susceptible animals from FMD. Depending on the country’s specific situation, vaccination strategies can range from mass coverage of the entire livestock population to targeted vaccinations in high-risk areas or emergency vaccination in case of outbreak. Deciding whether to vaccinate is a decision made by each country’s national animal health authorities, considering factors such as epidemiological situation, economic considerations, logistical challenges in vaccine administration, and the potential impact on international livestock trade.

The benefits of a well-coordinated vaccination effort cannot be overstated – it helps prevent large-scale outbreaks, reduces economic losses, protects rural livelihoods, and enables countries to maintain or regain access to international markets. This is especially important as global trade in animals and animal products continues to grow, and the need for disease prevention becomes even more critical in safeguarding both public health and the economy.

Vaccination guidelines

The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) guidelines state that vaccination programs carried out in a target population of animals should provide coverage of at least 80% of that population, with vaccination campaigns being completed in the shortest possible time and administered in the correct dose and by the appropriate route. Vaccination should also be scheduled to minimize interference from maternal immunity – the natural immunity that a mother passes onto her young.

The vaccines used should meet international standards, and the virus strain or strains in the vaccine must antigenically match those of the disease circulating in the field. With FMD, it is important that vaccines containing inactivated virus, meaning the killed version of the virus that causes the disease, are utilized because an inactivated virus does not have the ability to multiply in vaccinated animals.

The use of live virus vaccines, which may cause the vaccinated animal to develop the very disease it is being vaccinated against, is not acceptable due to the danger of the reversion to virulence – or disease-causing ability and further transmission to other animals.

Tailored strategies

While vaccination can be used effectively to manage FMD, the control strategies for FMD vary between countries due to factors like disease prevalence, geography, economic resources and veterinary infrastructure. Varied livestock systems and differing levels of government support also shape approaches. Tailored strategies are therefore necessary for each country, considering local challenges, resources, trade priorities and veterinary infrastructure.

Veterinary services are the backbone of FMD prevention and control, playing a vital role in disease surveillance, educating farmers, ensuring safe trade practices, and responding effectively to outbreaks. Their effectiveness depends on strong government support, with adequate funding and resources to enforce biosecurity measures, conduct surveillance and implement vaccination campaigns where needed.

Tailored strategies, supported by strong veterinary services and international cooperation, are essential to managing and eventually eradicating FMD in affected regions. By implementing robust control measures and learning from past outbreaks, countries can work towards securing a future where FMD no longer poses a major economic and agricultural threat.

References

1 - World Organization for Animal Health (2025). – The State of the World’s Animal Health 2025. Paris, 120pp. https://doi.org/10.20506/woah..... License: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.