Is foot and mouth disease a danger to humans?

The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in more than 30 districts and the recent report of the same in Kampala has heightened concern around the safety of meat in the market. Some people, especially those living in Kampala, told our reporter they have suspended consumption of meat until they are sure the meat they are buying and eating is from FMD-free animals. 

Human and animal health experts say although the risk of humans getting FMD from eating or touching an infected animal is low, there have been reports of infections in humans, a reality some experts say should lead to some alertness. 

“An average human being will not get the disease even if they come into contact with it, by touch, eating the meat, or treating the animal except for children and those who are immunocompromised who might suffer mild symptoms,” says Dr Mukuzi Muhereza, a general doctor and member of the National One Health Technical Working Group. The group guides policy makers on the control of diseases that affect human beings and animals. 

“Getting FMD is usually through contact and not eating the meat. And although the virus is a bit resilient, it cannot survive beyond around 60 degrees Celsius. So, if you cook your meat well, you will not get FMD,” Dr Muhereza says.

However, Dr Daniel Kasibule, the president of the Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA), says one should not take too much risk since there is some evidence that FMD can cross from animals to humans. 

“We have other alternatives to meat such as fish and chicken. Although many people are only worried about their lives, the quality of life is also very important. In this case, the quality of life of a person who has eaten meat from an animal infected with FMD is reduced,” he cautions.

Policy 

Dr Anna Rose Ademun, the commissioner of Animal Health on March 1, ordered Kampala authorities to enforce quarantine, saying there was an FMD outbreak in Kabowa in Lubaga Division, Kampala District.  

More than 30 districts in the cattle corridor districts are still under quarantine because of an FMD outbreak, although government officials say the outbreak in Kampala has been managed and so, there is no need to enforce the quarantine.

However, Dr Kasibule and many other Ugandans are still skeptical about the safety of meat. 

Research

A 2001 report by United Kingdom public health expert Henry Prempeh and colleagues, shows that there was a human case reported in Britain in 1966, during an epidemic of FMD. 

“Foot and mouth disease is a zoonosis or a disease transmissible to humans, but it crosses the species barrier with difficulty and with little effect. Given the high incidence of the disease in animals, both in the past and in more recent outbreaks worldwide, its occurrence in man is rare,” the report reads. 

Another report published in 2018 by Mahendra Pal, a Veterinary Public Health and microbiology expert in India and colleagues, shows that natural infection has been recorded in a wide variety of animals with recovery occurring within 15 days. 

“The infection is rarely documented in human beings. However, one veterinary assistant who examined the oral cavity of FMD affected cows without using gloves, developed vesicles on his right palm,” the report reads.

Source of infection

A report titled Foot and Mouth Disease: A Highly Infectious Viral Zoonosis of Global Importance published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology and Biochemistry, shows that humans can acquire the infection by direct contact with diseased animals.

This puts dairy farmers, animal handlers, cattle owners, veterinarian and laboratory workers at risk of getting the disease, according to the report.

"Infection can also occur by ingestion of raw milk, unpasteurised dairy products or uncooked meat from affected animals. Accidentally, laboratory workers may also contract infection during handling of test samples since the virus can enter the body through traumatised skin, wounds or mucous membranes. The human may spread the infection by carrying the virus on their clothes and bodies. There is no person to person transmission of FMD,” the report reads.

Signs and symptoms

The researchers also noted that clinical manifestations of FMD in humans include fever, headache, malaise, listlessness, sore throat, anorexia (loss of appetite), vomiting, tachycardia (increased heart rate), red ulcerative lesions in oral cavity as well as tingling blisters on the hands and feet.

“Oral lesions are recorded in a five-year-old child following the ingestion of raw milk from a diseased cow. Vesicles are observed on the volar surface of the finger of one veterinarian who was attending to an outbreak of FMD in cattle,” the report reads further.

Treatment

According to experts, there is currently no specific drug that can be recommended to treat this viral disease. 

“In humans, disease is mild, self-limiting and recovery usually occurs within a week. In order to prevent secondary bacterial infection of the lesions, antiseptic or antibiotic skin ointment should be applied,” the researchers recommended.

Prevention

A report titled Foot and Mouth Disease: A Highly Infectious Viral Zoonosis of Global Importance published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology and Biochemistry, recommends the use of gloves during the examination of vesicles of diseased animals, avoiding direct close contact with diseased animals at the height of infection and avoiding visits to livestock farms in FMD affected areas.

Researchers also recommend avoiding consumption of unprocessed milk, dairy products and meat from sick animals, disinfection of clothes, premises, equipment, materials and vehicles, restriction on animal movement.

This is in addition to essential measures such as regular immunisation of animals, proper disposal of carcasses by incineration or deep burial and surveillance. There should also be health education to dairy farmers about the source of infection, mode of transmission and importance of consuming boiled milk and cooked meat.