Foot and Mouth Disease - Essay Example

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE Literature Review Here I am going to give a brief overview of what has been studied and done in the field of FMD, Foot & MouthDisease. Several journal articles, electronic sources and books are quoted here in this regard. Professor Dr. Brian and W.J. Mahy described in his book ‘Introduction and History of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus’ that Foot and mouth disease has been classified as critical epidemic threat to Cattle industry since 16th century and in late 19th century; it was shown by Loeffler and Frosch that this disease is caused by a virus which was undoubtedly the first virus of the vertebrates to be discovered. In 1920,an animal model using guinea pigs were used to demonstrate virus for the first time and then in vitro culture systems were used and with continuous research in this field, complete structure of the virion was seen microscopically in 1989. This virus belongs to genus Aphthovirus and family Picornaviridae. When we talk about the clinical course of the disease, we see that in 2004, Francisco Sobrino and Esteban Domingo stated that the early signs of FMD included sudden loss of or marked decrease in milk production in cattle along with loss of appetite, low mood and pyrexia. One or two days later, vesicles will be obvious on close inspection of mouth, feet, mammary glands and teats. In mouth, initially there is appearance of blanched areas on tongue which later turned into fluid collections. These will give tongue “corrugated” appearance. With passage of time; there is onset of severe pain in mouth along with shaky movements of lips and the lower jaw. Lesions of feet include sudden onset of lameness, hesitation to move and flickering movements of leg. Vesicles on the feet start to rupture in a day or longer than do the rupture of the mouth vesicles. In addition to these features, animals also show nasal and eye discharges. The nasal discharge is initially watery bugt later it becomes mucopurulent. Immediately after the rupture of vesicles in mouth, the process of resolution starts at the margins of the lesions and the process being completed in about seven days but without the tongue papillae. In feet, the process of healing is even more rapid and takes just five days to complete provided that there is no secondary infection. Talking about the source of virus, the website of Animal Disease concluded in its research on FMD that clinically affected animals, secretions of infected animals & infected meat whose ph remain above 6 are the main sources of virus. Furthermore, Infection of humans with FMDV can occur through contact with infected animals but is extremely rare. As the FMDV is stomach acid sensitive so it is uncommon for the infection to occur with infected meat except in the mouth before swallowing. Symptoms of FMD in humans are pyrexia, fatigue, emesis and mouth ulcers. Death of 2children due to milk infected with FMDV is also reported in UK. According to a comprehensive research on Epidemiological Analyses of Foot and Mouth Disease in Pakistan, it is stated that In Punjab, 54% prevalence of FMD was recorded in Sheikhupura followed by Okara, Gujrat, Multan and Gujranwala having prevalence of 40%, 34%, 31.09%and 30% respectively. In Sindh highest incidence was seen in Sanghar having 33.78% followed by Dadu, Mirpur Khas and Tharparker having 31.40%, 30.65% and 30.50% respectively. In NWFP, Districts with highest prevelance rate include Kohat(37.33%), Malakand(35%), Peshawar(34.2%) and Bannu(31%). So, the rate of FMD virus is increasing at rapid rate especially in developing countries. As far as mode of transmission of FMD is concerned, Judy Arbique mentioned in his article on FMD that the mode of transmission mostly involve those by oral or fecal route followed by contact with secretions of nose, throat & mouth followed by having contact with infected materials and surfaces. While talking about complications, Judy Arbique further mentioned that the complications include lameness, secondary infections mostly bacterial, decreased milk production, frequent abortions and infertility. Earlier vaccines were made from dead samples of FMD virus but these vaccines sometimes caused outbreaks of the disease so in 1981, first genetically engineered vaccine was developed in U.S.A. Some people confused FMD of human with FMD of animals. Jay Mersch concluded that it should not be confused with FMD of cattle’s; its symptoms include fever and malaise followed by rash characteristic of HFMD. Ulcerative lesions of Gums, Tongue and Cheeks are most common. Lower leg lesions may also be seen. This syndrome is caused by members of Enterovirus family. In the article, Hand Foot and Mouth disease: Basics, Jason Newland mentioned that FMD mostly affect temperate climate areas; having peak incidence in summer. It is a highly contagious disease and can cause a single isolated infected case as well as an epidemic. Most common routes of infection are through coughing and sneezing followed by through contact with the infected stool and the secretions coming out of the ruptured blisters. Pamela L Dyne mentioned in her article, Pediatrics, Hand- Foot- and- Mouth Disease that both sexes are equally affected but males are more prone to develop symptomatic illness. Children are more prone to develop HFMD than the adults due to their decreased level of immunity. This is a minor illness which is usually self resolving but one should consult a doctor if the sore throat keeps the child from drinking fluids. Infection occurs when the individual has a contact with saliva or infected fecal matter. Diagnosis is mainly on clinical grounds although cultures of throat and stool can be helpful in ascertaining the diagnosis. While guiding patients of FMD, RW Ragunathan and RLM Pushparani suggested that the patients of FMD should wash their hands regularly. Awareness about Health education regarding hygiene is also very important. The parents should care about the prognosis of their child. There should be adequate ventilation of the room. Antibiotics do not prove to be helpful. The main stay of treatment is on proper analgesia & proper hydration of the patient. Main complications of HFMD include severe dehydration, febrile Fitzss and severely inflamed mouth. Currently no vaccine is available for HFMD but Sinovac in collaboration with CDC of China have shown its interest in developing a vaccine against this highly contagious disease of children. Sources: 1. Professor Dr. Brian, W.J.Mahy. (2005). Introduction and History of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus. Germany: Springer. 2. Foot and Mouth Disease, The Free Dictionary: Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/FMD 3. Francisco, Sobrino., & Esteban, Domingo. (2004). Foot and Mouth Disease Current Perspectives. England: Horizon Bioscience. 4. (2002, April 22). Foot and Mouth Disease. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Animal Disease data website: http://www.oie.int/Eng/maladies/fiches/a_A010.htm 5. Infection of Human with FMDV. Foot- and- Mouth Disease. Retrieved April, 16 2010, from wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease 6. Rubina, Anjum., Manzoor, Hussain., Aamer Bin, Zahoor., Hamid, Irshad., & Umer, Farooq. Epidemiological Analyses of Foot and Mouth Disease in Pakistan. Retrieved April, 16 2010, from website: http://www.fspublishers.org/ijab/past-issues/IJABVOL_8_NO_5/19.pdf 7. Judy, Arbique. (2007). Hand Foot and Mouth Disease: Viral Infection in Human. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from suite101.com website: http://microbiology.suite101.com/article.cfm/hand_foot_and_mouth_disease 8. Judy, Arbique,. (2007). Foot and Mouth Disease: Viral Infection in Animals. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from Suit101.com website: http://microbiology.suite101.com/article.cfm/foot_and_mouth_disease 9. Foot- and- Mouth Disease. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease#Vaccination 10. Jay Mersch,. Hand- Foot- and Mouth Syndrome (HFM): Retrieved April 13, 2010, from Medicine Net website: http://www.medicinenet.com/hand-foot-and-mouth_syndrome/article.htm 11. Jason, Newland,. Hand Foot and Mouth Disease: Basics. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from WD Website: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/hand_foot_mouth_disease/book-diseases-20a.htm 12. 12 Pamela, L Dyne,. Pediatrics, Hand-Foot- and- Mouth Disease. Retrived April 15, 2010, from e medicine website: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/802260-overview 13. Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease (HFMD): Fast Facts. Retrieved April 13, 2010, from CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm 14. Hand- Foot- and- Mouth Disease: Symptoms. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Mayoclinic.com website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease/DS00599/DSECTION=symptoms 15. RW Ragunathan, RLM PushParani,. Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, a report of recent epidemic and review of Literature: Research Paper from website: http://www.sljol.info/sljol/index.php/GMJ/article/viewFile/1166/1069 16. (2009). Home Care of Patients with hand, foot and mouth disease. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Hand- Foot- Mouth Disease website: http://www.hand-foot-mouth-disease.com/home-care-of-patients-with-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease.html 17. Hand- Foot- Mouth Disease. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Do Greene website: http://www.drgreene.com/azguide/hand-foot-mouth-disease 18. Complications of Hand- Foot- Mouth Syndrome, Retrieved April 16, 2010, from WD website: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/hand_foot_mouth_syndrome/complic.htm 19. Pregnancy and Hands, Foot and Mouth disease (HFMD). Retrieved April 16, 2010, from Pregnancy & Fertility Community website: http://www.wellsphere.com/pregnancy-fertility-article/pregnancy-and-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-hfmd/34222 20. Sinovac to Develop Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine. Retrived April 15, 2010, from http://seekingalpha.com/article/97073-sinovac-to-develop-hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-vaccine Read More