Although foot-and-mouth disease has yet to hit North American livestock, researchers are recommending livestock producers have an emergency plan if it does.

"I think producers should be aware of what the disease is, how it’s transmitted, what the symptoms are, where it’s at — and I strongly think they should have a plan in place if it shows up here," advises Doug Zalesky, a research scientist at Colorado State University’s San Juan Basin test station.

Cloven-hoofed animals who are excessively salivating, running a fever of up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, and showing lesions in the mouth, feet, and udders are exhibiting symptoms of the disease and should be checked by a veterinarian immediately.

Once the disease is recognized, producers should isolate all of their animals, lock farm gates and post "keep out" signs, while avoiding moving livestock and agricultural products off of the farm.

In Colorado, the Department of Agriculture has developed its own plan to prevent the disease from spreading.

"With the disease crippling the farm industry in England, we wanted to ensure that the same wouldn’t happen here," said Wayne Cunningham, Colorado state veterinarian. "The actions listed in the protocol will help reduce the threat of occurrence and will help contain the spread of the disease, if it should reach us here in Colorado."

If the disease enters Colorado, the animals and farm premises infected will immediately be quarantined within a 20-mile radius, and livestock markets will be closed.

The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom has ravaged the livestock industry in Great Britain. As of April 5, 1,061 cases of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed in the UK, and 1,204,000 animals had been slaughtered or identified for slaughter.

No confirmed cases of the disease have been found in the United States, but the crisis in Europe and United Kingdom has caused anxiety within the agricultural community.

"I think that producers are really concerned about it because it has the potential to be pretty devastating to the livestock industry," said Phyllis Snyder, a Lewis rancher and a member of the Colorado Farm Bureau’s state board of directors.

"We probably have less chance of it spreading here than most other countries, but I think we would be fooling ourselves to think there is no chance of it getting here," explained Zalesky.

The foot-and-mouth virus is one of the most contagious livestock viruses. It can infect cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals such as deer and elk.

Although not usually fatal, the disease causes blister-like lesions in the mouth, teats, and hooves of animals that dramatically effects the animal’s milk yield and growth rate.

Humans are not susceptible to the disease, but can easily spread it to other animals.

The virus can survive through seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It can live in fecal matter, and can viably travel on the wind for up to 50 miles.

Animals can be exposed through contaminated hay, water, other animals, and humans who carry the virus on their clothes and vehicles.

"As easily and quickly as it can spread, once it gets here, if it ever gets here, it would be devastating. If you think about the livestock movement in this country it’s incredible how quickly it could spread," warned Zalesky.

To keep the disease from spreading to the United States, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has banned the importing of products derived from ruminants and swine from foot-and-mouth infected countries.

On Jan. 29, the United Kingdom was added to a list of foot-and-mouth infected countries including the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Luxembourg, Greece, Argen-tina, and Colombia.

"You know, we get so tired of jillions of millions of regulations, but when something like this happens, you’re going, ‘Well, maybe some of those are good’," she said.

"Maybe we’ll have to live with some regulations," commented Snyder, who thinks the federal government has put adequate safeguards in place, "unless someone wanted to sabotage the livestock industry."

The last outbreak of the disease in the United States occurred in California in 1929.

"Even though a country may not have a confirmed case of foot-and-mouth disease, it doesn’t mean they don’t have it. And it doesn’t mean that the products coming in aren’t infected. I just don’t think in a case like this, or a situation like this that you can be too cautious," said Zalesky.

A vaccine is available for foot-and-mouth disease, but Zalesky said countries are hesitant to allow it for three reasons.

First, once a vaccination program is started, the infected country cannot export animal products to disease-free countries.

In addition, current testing methods cannot distinguish between an animal that has the disease and an animal that has only been vaccinated for it.

"So, if you’re testing animals to see if they have the disease and you’ve vaccinated for it that animal would test positive, and at some point would most likely be slaughtered," said Zalesky.

Plus, there are several strains of foot-and-mouth disease, and the strain has to be identified before an animal can be vaccinated.

But if the United States stays foot-and-mouth-free, the disease could help boost American imports to countries facing meat shortages.

"It could be a boon for the livestock industry here. I hate to say that in light of somebody else’s bad fortune, but realistically that could be," admitted Zalesky.

Although Snyder acknowledges the possibility the disease could help the U.S. livestock industry, she still empathizes with British producers who have seen their entire herds slaughtered.

"It’s devastating. You think about it, and you see the pictures where they’re just burning whole herds. I just don’t know how these guys are going to come out from under it," she said.

"I know what would happen in the United States if they lost their entire herd — they’re out of business, they’re out of agriculture. They don’t have anything else. They don’t have another alternative lifestyle."

To help prevent an outbreak in the United States, the Colorado Farm Bureau is asking travelers abroad in disease-ridden countries to be extremely careful before re-entering the United States.

The virus can easily be carried on shoes or clothes, and through agricultural products that are infected.