To prevent and manage Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) on your farm, practice strict biosecurity, monitor your livestock daily, and immediately isolate any suspected cases. [1, 2, 3]

Control Animal Movement

-Stop buying new stock: Avoid bringing any new animals onto your farm during an outbreak.

-Quarantine new arrivals: Keep any necessary new animals separate for at least 28 days if moving is permitted.

-Restrict vehicle access: Clean and disinfect all trucks, trailers, and visitor vehicles, especially the wheels, before they enter your property. 

Farm Hygiene and Disinfection

-Use approved disinfectants: Clean boots, equipment, and hard surfaces using registered products like F10 CL or Afrivet A.C.T.

-Set up footbaths: Place disinfectant footbaths and hand-wash stations at all main entrance and barn doorways.

-Change clothing: Provide dedicated boots and overalls for farm staff, and avoid wearing work clothes to other farms or livestock sales. 

Daily Monitoring and Symptoms

-Inspect herds calmly: Walk or drive quietly through your animals without causing panic. Look for warning signs like lameness, reluctance to walk, excessive drooling, smacking lips, or blisters on the mouth and hooves. 

-Check all species: Remember that signs can be very mild in sheep and goats, while pigs often show severe symptoms (including on the snout) very quickly.

What to Do If You Suspect FMD

-Isolate immediately: Keep the affected herd away from all other livestock with no nose-to-nose contact.

-Do not move animals: Freeze all movement of animals, feed, or equipment on and off the property.

-Notify authorities: Immediately report
suspected cases to your local state veterinarian or farmer’s union representative and cooperate fully with official instructions.