
Prof. RNDr. Aleš Macela, DrSc. Prof. RNDr. Vanda Boštíková, Ph.D.
So we are again learning about new false information people made up. Narratives are being spread that the virus from the Picornaviridae family that causes foot-and-mouth disease has been artificially released into Slovakia and Hungary because these countries do not agree with the current policy of Brussels, or that foot-and-mouth disease does not exist at all and is basically the same hoax as Covid-19. A number of articles [1-3] tries to refute such stories, but the disinformation campaign that has started in Slovakia is spilling over into the Czech Republic. The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in European countries and its real economic impact has triggered a corresponding response from the relevant government institutions and, with it, activated the sphere of disinformation on social media. There is no point in repeating the inane narratives; it is necessary to explain what is happening with foot-and-mouth disease.
The virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease does exist. Probably the first description of a disease in cattle that bore a clear resemblance to today’s foot-and-mouth disease is attributed to the Italian monk Hierony Fracastorius, who described the disease in Venice in 1546. Affected animals refused to be fed, the oral mucosa showed redness and the animals had inflammatory vesicles in the oral cavity and on their feet. Most of the affected animals eventually recovered [4]. The disease is caused by Foot-and-Mouth-Disease-Virus (FMDV), which belongs to the genus Aphthovirus within the family Picornaviridae; it is a single-stranded RNA virus. Foot-and-mouth disease mainly affects solipeds, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats or wildlife, transmission to humans is quite rare [5-6]. At present, FMD occurs sporadically in almost all parts of the world where livestock are kept; the distribution of the disease roughly reflects the economic development of the country. The more developed European countries have virtually eradicated the disease and have it under control.
Foot-and-mouth disease virus exists in seven different serological types. Serotypes O (after the department of Oise in France) and A (after the French name for Germany, Allemagne) were described in 1922 by Henry P.M.A. Vallée and Henry Carré, based on the fact that cattle that recovered from clinically verified foot-and-mouth disease originating in France almost immediately became reinfected with foot-and-mouth virus originating in Germany [7]. A third serotype, serotype C, was described by Otto Waldmann and Karl Trautwein in 1926 [8]. The other three serotypes (SAT1, SAT2, SAT3) were described in 1958 based on material collected in South Africa [9]. The last serotype, serotype Asia-1, was identified in a sample collected from a water buffalo originating from the vicinity of Okara, Punjab (Pakistan) in 1954 [10]. Apart from a few subtypes, no other serotype has been found since then.
But let us return to the misinformation. European countries have, thanks to their veterinary measures, reduced the incidence of foot-and-mouth disease, which is described as one of the most contagious viral diseases of animals and humans in the world. Due to the limited prevalence of the disease, the cost of vaccination and the lack of a vaccine that protects against all serotypes, a vaccination ban has been in force in the European Union since 1992, with only emergency vaccination allowed in the event of an outbreak [11, 12]. With regard to the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease into the national territory, it can be stated that, given the potential presence of the virus on all continents and the possibilities of its spread (by contact, animal products, aerosol, i.e. wind, live or dead vectors, i.e. different viral vectors), in the event of an outbreak in neighbouring countries, all available measures must be activated immediately to prevent the introduction of the disease. There is no other means of prevention. And the normal route of introduction of FMD into Central Europe is historically via the Balkans and Russia. It is therefore not surprising that Hungary was the first in line, followed by Slovakia.
The introduction of foot-and-mouth disease into a country’s territory, or simply veterinary measures to protect against it, is a significant economic problem. Even if it were possible to vaccinate on a widespread basis, it would be very expensive and, moreover, exports of animals and animal products would not be able to compete with exports of these commodities from countries that do not have FMD on their territory and do not vaccinate (serologically, it is very difficult to distinguish a vaccinated animal from a diseased or so-called carrier animal [6]). However, foot-and-mouth disease also limits the tourist business; the Tatra National Park, for example, appeals for people to consider visiting the park as a responsibility, as it is a protection of chamois, which are susceptible to the virus [13]. Protective measures against the spread of foot-and-mouth disease also affect the now well-developed Czech agro-tourism industry [14], so they do not only complicate the production of agricultural products.
So from all points of view, whether purely health, veterinary, economic or generally human, the disinformation campaign on FMD contains completely flawed arguments that can easily be refuted if the reader is willing to understand and reflect on the narratives presented.
References
- https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/ekonomika-byznys-trendy-analyzy-internetem-se-siri-lzi-slintavka-pry-neexistuje-a-je-to-blamaz-jako-covid-272759.
- https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/podcasty-retezak-slintavka-a-kulhavka-za-humny-konspirace-a-chaos-na-sitich-mohou-zpusobit-katastrofu-40516781.
- https://minutovezpravy.cz/clanek/cesi-jsou-opet-odborniky-na-viry-slintavka-a-kulhavka-je-podle-nich-vymysl-eu/.
- Mahy BW. Introduction and history of foot-and-mouth disease virus. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2005;288:1-8. doi: 10.1007/3-540-27109-0_1. PMID: 15648172.
- Grubman MJ, Baxt B. Foot-and-mouth disease. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2004 Apr;17(2):465-93. doi: 10.1128/CMR.17.2.465-493.2004. PMID: 15084510; PMCID: PMC387408.
- Jamal SM, Belsham GJ. Foot-and-mouth disease: past, present and future. Vet Res. 2013 Dec 5;44(1):116. doi: 10.1186/1297-9716-44-116. PMID: 24308718; PMCID: PMC4028749.
- Vallée H, Carré H. Sur la pluralité du virus aphteux. C R Hebd Acad Sci Paris. 1922;44:1498–1500. (in French).
- Waldmann O, Trautwein K. Experimentalle untersuchungen ueber die pluralitet des maul-und klauenseuche virus. Berlin Tierarztl Wochenschr. 1926;44:569–571. (in German).
- Brooksby JB. The virus of foot-and-mouth disease. Adv Virus Res. 1958;44:1–37. doi: 10.1016/s0065-3527(08)60670-3.
- Brooksby JB, Rogers J. Methods of typing and cultivation of foot-and-mouth disease virus: Project No. 208. Paris: European Productivity Agency of the Organization of European Cooperation (OEEC); 1957. Methods used in typing the virus of Foot-and-mouth disease at Pirbright, 1950–55.
- Sutmoller P., Barteling S. S., Olascoaga R. C., Sumption K.J. Control and eradication of foot-and-mouth disease. Virus Res. 2003, roč. 91, čís. 1, s. 101–144. PMID12527440.
- http://aplikace.mvcr.cz/archiv2008/sbirka/2004/sb128-04.pdf.
- https://www.zscr.cz/clanek/tatransky-narodni-park-apeluje-na-lidi-z-lokalit-s-vyskytem-slak-aby-zvazili-pobyt-na-jeho-uzemi-jde-o-chranene-kamziky-kteri-jsou-na-slak-vnimavi-8002.
- https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/domaci/zemedelstvi-chov-slintavka-kulhavka-slak.A250416_162634_ekonomika_drh.