Foot and Mouth Disease: An Overview of its Global Status, Control Policies and the Thai Case

FMD is one of the world’s most researched and infectious diseases. FMD is endemic in most regions of South America, Asia and Africa. While the global incidence of FMD is falling, the prevalence of the disease worldwide is still significant with effective control programs constituting important national objectives. In recent times, there has been an increasing interest amongst endemic countries in the economic viability of disease control programs. This interest is expected to intensify as governments seek accountability in investments into disease control programs in the future. Disease control programs vary significantly in their application ranging from vaccination to “stamping out” to composite programs such as disease free zoning. The appropriate selection of these strategies can determine whether a country reaps the substantial national benefits of an optimal disease control strategy or incurs significant losses to producers, consumers and traders associated with an inappropriate program. This paper will provide a profile of FMD, its global prevalence and control policies applied, with particular reference to South East Asia.