Etiology:
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is icosahedral in shape, nonenveloped, and measures 27nm in diameter. The genome is approximately 8 kilobases of single-stranded RNA.
Seven serotypes of FMDV have been identified (O, A, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3 and Asia1) and are distributed in different geographic regions.
REGION |
VIRUS |
South America |
O, A, C |
Europe |
O, A, C |
Africa |
O, A, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3 |
Asia |
O, A, C, Asia1 |
North and Central America |
Free |
Caribbean |
Free |
Oceania |
Free |
All of the serotypes contain a number of subtypes, making control and eradication challenging.
The virus is fairly resistant and survives well in organic material such as feces, blood, and in the environment under conditions of high humidity and low sunlight. FMDV is easily inactivated at pH less than 6.0