Foot-and-Mouth Disease in India: Past, Present and Future Outlook - A Review

Abstract

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) affects domestic livestock population of India causing heavy economic losses to the animal owners. Clinical form of the disease is readily noticed in susceptible livestock population mainly cattle, buffalo and pigs but saliently maintained in carrier animals. Foot-and-mouth disease control programme (FMDCP) is run in India by adopting series of measures from clinical diagnosis of the disease in the field, to sending clinical samples for laboratory diagnosis and till selection of vaccine candidates. Vaccines are used to cover all the susceptible livestock population. This is expected to minimise economic losses to the livestock owners due to the disease. The Government of India has been carrying out intensive FMDCP in a phase wise manner since 2003-2004 and subsequently by 2017-2018; it has covered all the districts of the country. The FMDCP is intending to vaccinate all the susceptible livestock population of the country such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs. That exercise was adopted to make the country free of the disease till 2025-2030. Directorate on FMD is functioning untiringly in this regard and International center on FMD has been set up to serve the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. In the present chapter merits and shortfalls in the Foot-and-mouth disease prevention and control strategy will be discussed.

Sharing the Load by One Health

“…Bovine FMD is endemic in India and the government has prioritized the implementation of this vaccination program due to its benefits to the small-holders’ livelihoods as well as to national economics and food security. [ 8 ]…”

Estimation of foot-and-mouth disease virus sero-prevalence rates using novel computational approach for the susceptible bovine population in India during the period 2008–2021

“…To achieve this, the sustained efforts of the Government of India and use of better diagnostics supported by precautionary measures taken by FMD research institute and state FMD centres could not be ruled out. If this trend continues, India will achieve FMD-free status with vaccination by 2030 from its third stage in progressive control pathway (i.e., outcome-oriented guidelines by the WOAH) 15 .…”

“…FMD outbreaks in India are caused by three serotypes, namely O, A, and Asia1 13 causing an estimated economic loss up to 200 billion INR per annum 5 , 8 , 14 . For this purpose, Government of India has started mass vaccination of its bovine population with inactivated vaccines through the FMD control programme (FMDCP) and the Assistance to States to Control Animal Disease programme (ASCAD) 15 . With the implementation of the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) in 2019 (renamed as Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP)) 16 , the whole country is now covered under the vaccination programme.…”

Molecular Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Field Isolates of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype A from Uttar Pradesh, India

“…The epidemiology of FMD in India is complicated because of the circulation of endemic FMDV viruses and incursions of exotic viral strains from the neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan [14]. India has been considered one of the FMDV endemic south asian countries with multiple FMD outbreaks since 1864 [15]. FMDV serotypes O, A and Asia-1 are circulating in the bovine population of India.…”