Foot and Mouth Disease

The left is a cow not infected with FMD; on the right is a cow infected with FMD. Note that the hooves are red in the infected cow, which indicates heat.

Photo courtesy of USDA.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a viral disease of domestic and wild cloven hoofed animals. FMD is not currently present in the United States.

However, introduction of FMD poses a serious threat not only to agricultural resources of the United States, but also to our natural resources, particularly free-ranging wildlife. The NPS has prepared a FMD prevention plan and response plan to assist parks in addressing the threat of FMD.

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