THE STRATEGIES FOR THE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals and the outbreak of this disease may result in a severe economic loss. The spread of FMD is controlled by measures including movement restriction, stamping-out policy, pre-emptive culling and emergency vaccination (either ring or blanket vaccination). This paper reviews the strategies used in different countries to control FMD during the outbreaks of the disease in 1997–2011. The subsequent outcomes achieved by different strategies and the points needed to be considered before choosing a strategy are discussed.