Foot and Mouth Disease
Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the most highly contagious animal diseases known. It is caused by a virus that can infect cattle, swine, sheep, goats, other cloven-hooved animals, elephants, hedgehogs, rats, and mice. Infections in humans are extremely rare and non-fatal when they occur. The United States has been free of foot-and-mouth disease since 1929. The disease is currently known to exist in Great Britain, France, Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
