AVIS - Foot and Mouth disease

Strategies For Control

Economic Consequences

Draught Animals

The importance of FMD in draught animals is often overlooked and poorly quantified. In some parts of the world, draught animals comprise a large proportion of the livestock of a country. For example, India alone has over 60 million draught cattle and buffalo.

Based on data from South America, it can be estimated that the average loss of draught power is of the order of 60 to 70% in the first month of an outbreak. The practical consequences of this during peak agricultural activity can be very damaging to the livelihood of the farmer. The Vietnamese authorities concluded that each case of FMD in working cattle or buffaloes resulted in the loss of 3 tons of rice.