ETIOLOGY OF THE SPREAD OF FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

Foot and mouth disease a severe viral disease, leads to an increase in overall body temperature, the appearance of tumors on the mucous membranes of the mouth and digestive tract, as well as damage to the tissues of the hooves, nipples and milky glands. As FMDV is highly contagious and causes productivity losses among infected animals, outbreaks of the disease are a primary animal health concern worldwide. It can cause enormous economic losses when incursions occur into countries which are normally disease free. In addition, it has long-term effects within countries where the disease is endemic due to reduced animal productivity and the restrictions on international trade in animal products. There is no cross-protection between serotypes and sometimes protection conferred by vaccines even of the same serotype can be limited. Thus it is important to characterize the viruses that are circulating if vaccination is being used for disease control. Better control of the disease in endemic areas reduces the risk of incursions into disease-free regions.