IN 2001 an epidemic of foot and mouth disease (FMD) occurred in the UK. This was the first large outbreak since 1967, when 2364 farms were infected. The disease was diagnosed and confirmed on 20th February 2001 and a ban on the movement of livestock was introduced three days later. Investigations indicate that the first affected farm was infected approximately 10–14 days before 20th February. A...

Many aberration detection algorithms are used in infectious disease surveillance systems to assist in the early detection of potential outbreaks. In this study, we explored a novel approach to adjusting aberration detection algorithms to account for the impact of seasonality inherent in some surveillance data. By using surveillance data for hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Shandong province, Chin...

In this study, we validated three commercial ELISA (NSP-ELISA) kits that detect antibodies to a nonstructural protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in terms of their specificities and sensitivities. Although the specificities of the NSP-ELISA kits were as high as that of liquid-phase blocking ELISA (LPBE) in non-infected, non-vaccinated animals, the sensitivities of the NSP-ELISA kits ...

BACKGROUND Maternal antibodies can interfere with foot-and-mouth disease vaccination. In this study we determined whether intratypic heterologous vaccination could help to improve herd immunity. RESULTS In unvaccinated calves, a half-life of maternal antibodies of 21 days was determined. At two weeks of age, calves without maternal antibodies showed a good antibody response against both vacci...

The heat resistance of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) strains isolated from outbreaks in Thailand was investigated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 degrees C. The first-order kinetic model fitted most of the observed linear inactivation curves. The ranges of decimal-reduction time (D value) of FMDV strains at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 degrees C were 732 t...

BACKGROUND Over recent decades, hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has emerged as a serious public health threat in the Asia-Pacific region because of its high rates of severe complications. Understanding the differences and similarities between mild and severe cases can be helpful in the control of HFMD. In this study, we compared the two types of HFMD cases in their temporal trends. METHOD...

Acidic electrolyzed water (EW) (pH 2.6-5.8) and alkaline EW (pH 11.2-12.1) were examined as potential disinfectants against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Using acidic EW with pH 2.6 and alkaline EW with pH >11.7, the viral titer decreased in vitro by > 4.0 log values, 2 min after the virus was mixed with EW at a 1:10 dilution. The strong virucidal effect of acidic EW (pH 2.6), but not th...

For the first time, the complete genome sequences of the six serotype O foot-and-mouth disease viruses from persistently infected carrier cattle are reported here. No consistent amino acid changes were found in these viruses obtained from persistently infected cattle compared with the complete genome of the parent virus that was used to infect the cattle.