Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious and economically important viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild host species. During recent FMD outbreaks in India, spontaneous abortions were reported amongst FMD-affected and asymptomatic cows. The current study was an opportunistic investigation of these naturally occurring bovine abortions to assess causality of abortion and vertical transmission of FMDV from infected cows to fetuses. For this purpose, fetal tissue samples of eight abortuses (heart, liver, kidney, spleen, palatine tonsil, umbilical cord, soft palate, tongue, lungs, and submandibular lymph node) were collected and screened by various detection methods, including viral genome detection, virus isolation, and immunomicroscopy. Amongst these cases, gross pathological changes were observed in 3 abortuses. Gross pathological findings included blood-tinged peritoneal and pleural effusions and myocarditis. Hearts of infected calves had mild to moderate degeneration and necrosis of the myocardium with moderate infiltration by mixed inflammatory cells. Localization of FMDV antigen was demonstrated in lungs and soft palate by immunomicroscopy. FMDV serotype O viral genome was recovered from 7 of 8 cases. Infectious FMDV serotype O was rescued by chemical transfection of the total RNA extracted from three soft palate samples and was sequenced to confirm 100% identity of the VP1 (capsid) coding region with isolates collected from infected cattle during the acute phase of infection. Based upon these findings, it may be concluded that FMDV-associated abortion occurred among the infected pregnant cows included within this study and FMDV was subsequently transmitted vertically to fetuses. This is the first documentation of FMDV-associated abortions in cattle.

Singh AP, et al. J Vet Sci. 2010 Sep;11(3):227-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2010.11.3.227

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious, contagious and economically important viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals and > 70 wild species. FMD virus (FMDV) belongs to the genus Aphthovirus, family Picornaviridae. This review is dealt with the pathology, diagnosis and management of FMD by ethnoveterinary practice. The review also addresses the progress made in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease and persistence of FMD virus.

The present study was undertaken to see the excretion of FMD virus in milk during and after the subset of FMD outbreak. Fore-milk (50 ml) was sampled from 12 clinically infected and 3 asymptomatic cows in the morning. Analytical sensitivity of NAR methods was estimated using uninfected negative milk sample spiked with 105.7 TCID50/ml FMD serotype O virus (IND R2/1975) in 10 fold serial dilution. Detection limit of mPCR and RT- LAMP assay was 102.7 and 101.7 TCID50/ml, respectively. 15 individual and pooled cows’ milk samples infected with FMD virus were processed for virus isolation (VI) and detection till 37 days post clinical manifestation (dpm). Virus isolation from individual and pooled milk from infected cow was positive till 6 and 4 dpm, respectively. Individual milk and pooled milk samples were found positive by m-PCR till 37 and 14 dpm, respectively, but by RT-LAMP till 37 and 21 dpm, respectively. In case of asymptomatic cows, viral genome was detected 2–5 days before appearance of disease in other animals. Milk virus isolate had 100% nucleotide identity at VP1 coding region. mPCR and RT LAMP assays has potential to detect FMD virus in milk and help to prevent the spread of FMD virus from one place to another place.