Dear Reader,

The latest epidemic of foot and mouth disease, which began in Britain this past February (2001) and spread to continental Europe, is now affecting fewer and fewer animals, and has so far claimed no human victims. Why have no people been infected? Although humans can get foot and mouth disease through close contact with an infected animal or its bodily secretions (including consuming contaminated, non-pasteurized milk and dairy products), such contact is rare for most people. What about ingesting other animal products? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Travelers' Health web page, poultry (as well as poultry products), fish, and shellfish are fine to dine on since they cannot be infected with foot and mouth disease. Meats, including pork, on the other hand, must be fully cooked before being considered safe to eat in general. The heating of these foods kills any possible foot and mouth disease virus that may be present in them.

In the extremely rare case that a person does become infected with foot and mouth, the illness will heal itself within 2 to 3 weeks. It is not fatal nor does it leave any lasting scars. Symptoms include:

• headache
• fever
• malaise
• lesions on the tongue, lips, the inside of the mouth, hands, and feet. Some of these lesions may be painful, but they tend to go away within one week.

No treatment is available besides letting the illness run its course.

Foot and mouth disease, which has not been seen in the United States since 1929, normally infects pigs and cattle, but it can also be passed on to other cloven-hooved animals. It's spread among animals either through the air or from the clothing and shoes of human guests. For more detailed information, you can call the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) foot and mouth hotline at 800.601.9327. The USDA web site gives links to many sources of information on foot and mouth, including outbreaks in other countries.

While the illness does not have a great medical effect on humans, foot and mouth affects people in other ways, including psychologically and economically. Farmers must witness the slaughter of their entire herd of animals, and the rural tourist economy, especially in Britain, is in near-collapse as potential visitors have been scared away. It will obviously take these farmers and rural folk who rely on tourism for a living far longer than 2 - 3 weeks to recover from the latest outbreak.

Alice

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