USDA Scientists Studying Causes of Foot-And-Mouth Disease

U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists have learned that foot-and-mouth infection in cattle begins when the virus selectively infects epithelial cells in the back of the cow’s throat. This discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world. Read more…