Contagious eruptive viral disease of
cloven-hoofed mammals, characterized by
blisters in the mouth and around the hooves.
In cattle it causes deterioration of milk
yield and abortions. In the UK, affected
herds are destroyed; inoculation is practised
in Europe, and in the USA, a vaccine was
developed in the 1980s. Inoculation with a
vaccine is practised in the USA as a
preventive measure.