What is FMD: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

What is foot and mouth disease? It is an acute viral infection that can be transmitted from a sick animal to a person. How does this happen? What are the signs and symptoms of foot and mouth disease in humans? How are people treated for this ailment? Is it possible to rescue an animal that has this disease or not? Answers to all these questions you can find out by reading the article.

History and spread of the disease

For the first time the clinical picture of this disease was described in the XVIII century. To answer the question about what is FMD, and to prove its viral etiology, Frosch and Leffler could. They did it in 1988.

The widespread spread of viral infection among animals in a large area occurs throughout the 21st century. Foot and mouth disease in humans at this time is recorded very rarely.

Epidemiology of the disease

Two-breeded animals are considered to be the source of the infection. Basically, they include cattle. Very rarely, pigs, goats and sheep become ill. As a rule, a person becomes infected with raw milk. Also, foot and mouth disease is transmitted by direct contact with sick animals.

The person himself can not infect another person. Most often, children suffer from it. Because they drink milk as a drink. The source of adult diseases is their profession. In addition, as mentioned above, a person will become infected if there is a non-contaminated dairy product in his diet.

Causes of the disease

Foot and mouth disease. What is this disease and what is its pathogen? It turns out that the main "culprit" is picornavirus, which belongs to the family of aphthaviruses. It contains RNA and is stable in the external environment. The virus retains its vitality on the wool of sick animals for up to one month, and on human clothes up to 21 days. In addition, it can easily tolerate drying and freezing. The virus becomes inactive when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, heating and when exposed to disinfectant solutions. There are 3 stereotypes: A, B, C.

Primary aphthae appears in the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. It happens that the virus gets into the blood. Secondary aphthae, it forms in the skin hands and mucous membranes. After this, viremia develops. The latter in turn is accompanied by intoxication. This is the beginning of the disease.

Cases of death can be if secondary infection, myocarditis and dehydration join.

How is foot and mouth disease infected?

The source of the disease is both wild animals and livestock. Some rodents are susceptible to this virus. Fortunately, they do not take any significant effect in the spread of foot and mouth disease.

In turn, birds do not become ill with this disease. But they are carriers of the disease during migration.

Animals suffering from this disease, excrete the pathogen with urine, milk, feces and saliva.

Disease FMD is transmitted by a contact mechanism, that is, a person becomes infected when the virus gets on the skin or mucous membrane. Because of its high resistance, the infection can be entered in areas that are far from the source of the disease. Thus, foot and mouth disease affects farm animals.

Ways of infection

Having learned the definition of what is foot and mouth disease, we note that there are several reasons that lead to the development of the disease:

• animal care;
• processing of skins and wool;
• inhalation of a dusty suspension that contains a virus;
• use of unprocessed properly meat and dairy products from a sick animal.

Unfortunately, the natural susceptibility of people to the virus is not so high. After the person has transferred the disease, it forms a specific immunity. It's enough for about 1.5 years.

Symptoms of foot and mouth disease

The incubation period of the disease lasts from a couple of days to two weeks. Foot and mouth disease begins suddenly. The body temperature rises sharply, chills are noted. There is a strong headache and aches in the limbs.

At the end of the day, most patients complain of burning sensation in the mouth. To additional symptoms of the disease is the lesion of the mucous membrane of the urethra. Namely, in this case, patients say that they have a painful urination.

When examining an infected person, such signs as soreness and an increase in regional lymph nodes, pronounced swelling of the oral mucosa are revealed. The latter is covered with small bubbles, which are also called ashes. Inside them there is a clear or cloudy liquid. They are located at the edges, as well as at the tip of the tongue.

Exactly after 24 hours the aphthae are opened. After them, there are erosions, which sometimes merge.

If the mucous membrane of the cavity is hit large, it is difficult for a person to swallow, and he has difficulty in speaking. The lips of the infected swollen. A crust appears on them. In addition, erosion can appear not only in the tongue, but also on the wings of the nose. There are cases of skin damage near the nails and between the fingers. Sometimes the disease is characterized by the fact that in the presence of the last symptom, erosions in the sexual cavity may not be.

Symptoms of the disease in

children As mentioned above, most often the infection occurs because the child consumes the milk of a sick animal.

Foot and mouth disease in children is much more severe than in adults. They have severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and dyspepsia. When the disease in place of erosions, the epithelium is formed after 3 days. At this time, and the fever. As a rule, a full recovery in a child is observed after two weeks. But, if there are significant lesions of both the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and the skin, this period can last up to a month. Sometimes new secondary watery cavities may form.

How does the disease develop in animals?

A virus that enters the body of cattle through the outer covering or digestive tract penetrates into the epithelial cells. It is here that it multiplies and fixes. Subsequently, the animal develops a serous inflammatory process. They form two primary aphthae. As a rule, the owners of livestock do not notice this. During this period of the disease development, the condition and behavior of the animal does not change in any way. The second phase begins in 24 hours.

After it enters the blood and all organs. This process causes an acute fever in the animal.

As a result of the virus multiplying in the epidermis, a large number of secondary aphthae appear in the intercuspal cavity, the oral cavity and on the skin of the udder nipple.

If a human FMD lends itself to treatment, then the animals have years. As a rule, in this case all livestock that was in contact with the infected are destroyed. Otherwise, the virus can spread to other healthy animals.

Diagnosis of the disease

Foot and mouth disease in humans should be distinguished from such diseases as drug allergy and chicken pox, acute herpetic stomatitis.

The diagnosis is mainly based on the characteristic clinical signs of the disease and the patient's complaints.

Even for laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis, you can infect guinea pigs. To do this, they rub the material into the skin of the pads of the feet.

Also one of the ways to diagnose foot and mouth disease is a serological study. Here, the complement fixation reaction with the specific antigen is used. A positive reaction appears after two weeks of the disease. For analysis, blood from the patient's vein is needed.

Complications of the disease

What is dangerous for foot and mouth disease for people? The consequences of the disease are extremely rare. This can occur due to various secondary infections. In children, diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration.

Adults can have meningitis, myocarditis, pneumonia and sepsis.

With the development of complications due to illness, antibiotic treatment is required. They will help in the fight against infection.

Treatment of the disease

The patient must be in the hospital. Proper care of the oral cavity and local treatment are carried out here. Methods are also used to alleviate the symptoms.

As long as the patient has affected areas in his mouth, he will need to take food only in a liquid or semi-liquid easily assimilated form. In addition, the temperature of food should be moderate.

Locally applied ointments, such as oxolinic and interferon. Physiotherapy procedures are also widely practiced. Basically, patients are assigned laser and ultraviolet irradiation.

Antipyretic and analgesic medications, as well as cardiovascular drugs may be prescribed strictly only by a specialist. If necessary, then detoxification is carried out. For the general strengthening of the patient's body, vitamins are prescribed.

Foreknowledge of

Basically, adult patients recover within two weeks after the onset of the disease. In this case, the outlook is favorable. There are no consequences.

For young children, the disease is severe, the prognosis is serious. A lethal outcome is possible.

Prevention of disease

The basis of this activity is veterinary control over the health of farm animals. After all, most often, foot and mouth disease in cows.

For this, sanitary and hygienic control over the health and working conditions of people working in agricultural enterprises is carried out. It is necessary to vaccinate against foot and mouth disease in time. To do this, there are special inactivated vaccines.

Individual prevention consists in observing personal hygiene measures when working with animal raw materials and livestock. In addition, it is necessary to protect yourself from trauma to the skin.

Other people, those who do not work in the field of agriculture, should also be careful and cautious. You should eat meat and dairy products, which have undergone the necessary treatment. Basically, this concerns the nutrition of children. Before giving the baby meat or milk it is necessary to subject it to a careful heat treatment. In this case, if there is a virus in the food, it will die during cooking. People are not vaccinated against foot and mouth disease.

Thus, after reading this article, you can easily answer the question: "What is FMD?".Symptoms of the disease and prevention measures will help others to warn themselves against this disease. Remember that compliance with several recommendations will avoid this terrible disease and stay healthy.