Editorial: Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Swine

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is one of the most devastating diseases of livestock (1). The disease is caused by infection with a picornavirus, generically referred as FMD virus (FMDV), which is considered one of the most infectious agents affecting animals (2). FMD status affects national and international movement and trade of animals and animal products, and food animal trade is expected to play an important role in poverty alleviation (Perez). Applied knowledge about FMD pathogenesis and epidemiology is important in the design and implementation of effective prevention and control programs, minimizing detrimental effects of FMD outbreaks. Decision tools have been developed by applying simulation models based on characteristics of FMD pathogenesis and epidemiology. These tools are meant to be used by risk managers and risk communicators to help prioritize control options during an FMD epidemic and making the evidence available for all stakeholders [Willeberg et al.; (3)]. Much of the literature on FMD has focused on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of the disease in cattle. However, FMD also affects other food animal species, most notably, swine. This research topic contributes to the gain and dissemination of important knowledge on the dynamics of one of the most devastating diseases of livestock when occurring in the pig, a susceptible species for which limited information is available in the peer-reviewed literature. The ultimate objective of these original articles and reviews was to contribute preventing and mitigating the impact of FMD in swine, thus, promoting health and economic development of non-affected as well as affected countries and regions. This research topic features nine studies supplementing the state-of-the-art of the knowledge on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of FMD in swine. Three papers focus on the analysis of experimental studies, which have been designed with the objective of gaining basic knowledge on the pathogenesis of the disease. Three other papers summarize the results of field studies and review fundamental features of FMD transmission and the effectiveness of FMD vaccination in swine. The last three papers describe the design and implementation of applied epidemiology approaches to prevent or mitigate the impact of FMD epidemics in disease-free regions.