How to diagnose the disease:
Government veterinarians are responsible for inspecting the clinically affected animals, collecting samples and sending these samples to federal laboratories for diagnosis. Materials for collection include vesicular fluid within intact vesicles, or epithelial tags surrounding ruptured vesicles. In addition, whole blood and serum should be taken.
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A sample collection technique that is unique to FMD diagnosis is the collection of esophageal-pharyngeal fluid (called O-P fluid because of the English spelling of oesophagus). To obtain this sample, a probang (above and to the left) is inserted into the animal`s mouth and gently placed down the esophagus (photo on the right). After some gentle agitation, the device is removed, and the saliva/esophageal fluid collected is placed in buffer for transport to the laboratory.
Useful laboratory diagnostic techniques include demonstration of the agent through immunological means such as complement fixation of ELISA. The International Office of Epizootics (OIE) is a global organization which defines accepted methods of diagnosis.