The livestock disease foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) does not pose any risk to human health through either physical contact or the consumption of animal products. This is the consensus among several local and international medical experts.
The disease recently came to public attention after FMD was detected at Africa’s largest feedlot – Karan Beef’s Heidelberg facility – in early June. It has since spread to some dairy farms, prompting questions on social media about two key issues:
- Are humans safe?
- Is our food safe?
The short answer to both questions? ‘Yes’. You and your family are safe to go about your lives. But if you’re not satisfied with a brief answer when it comes to health and safety, here is the longer answer explained by the experts:
FMD vs HFMD
The livestock disease FMD is often confused with a human disease called hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). These two are not the same.
Table 1: The differences between HFMD and FMD (Sources: Compiled by AgriOrbit based on information gathered from the NICD, CDC, and WOAH.)
| Feature | HFMD (human) | FMD (livestock) |
| Causative virus | Coxsackievirus A16, A6, and EV-71. (An enterovirus of the family Picornaviridae.*) | Foot-and-mouth disease virus. (An aphthovirus of the family Picornaviridae.*) |
| Hosts | Humans (especially children under five years old). | Cloven-hoofed animals (e.g. cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and buffalo). |
| Transmission routes | Person-to-person: Droplets, fecal-oral contact, fomites (e.g., toys, surfaces). Symptoms usually start 3 to 7 days after infection, and last 7 to 10 days. | Animal-to-animal: Direct contact, aerosols, contaminated equipment, feed, fomites, animal products. |
| Environment | Spreads rapidly in childcare and schools, thrives in warm, humid human settings. | Spreads in animal farms, with virus persisting in environment, manure, fomites, and surviving better in moist, cool climate. |
| Cross‑species concern | No zoonotic link — humans don’t infect animals and vice versa; the diseases are not related, despite similar names. |
(* The Picornaviridae-family of viruses are subdivided into five subfamilies of which the enterovirus and aphthovirus are two of the more prominent subfamilies.)
While KwaZulu-Natal is currently experiencing outbreaks of both diseases, they are completely unrelated. Table 1 offers an overview that confirms there is no correlation between the two diseases. Prof Dietmar Holm, specialist veterinarian in Bovine Herd Health at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, says it’s crucial to understand that FMD is not a zoonosis. A zoonosis refers to a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
“FMD can only be transmitted between cloven-hoofed animals, so it cannot even spread to cats and dogs,” he said. Cloven-hoofed animals include cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep. While humans cannot contract FMD, Prof Holm explains that they can spread it indirectly – for example, by physically transporting the virus on clothing from one animal to another.
Nevashan Govender, operations manager: Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) agrees, saying that FMD can’t be transmitted to humans. “A clear distinction needs to be made between the livestock disease FMD and the human disease HFMD. While both can produce visible blisters, they are completely different. HFMD goes away on its own and is not dangerous, whereas FMD requires veterinary intervention.”
Why (mainstream) food consumption remains safe
Prof Holm acknowledges that food safety concerns are natural during disease outbreaks but assured that South Africa’s formal food sector maintains very high safety standards, particularly in the red meat and dairy industries.
“As long as consumers buy from mainstream, reputable shops, they are very safe. South Africa’s formal food sector really is world-class,” he says. He bases this assurance on the fact that South Africa has several export-approved abattoirs that must comply with international standards. Similarly, local milk processors impose strict standards on primary producers.
Jompie Burger, managing director of the Dairy Standard Agency (DSA), says the agency regularly samples all milk and dairy products consumed by South Africans. “There are several other pathogens – like Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Listeria monocytogenes and salmonella – that pose daily threats, which is why consistent monitoring of dairy products is essential,” he said, emphasising that FMD does not pose a health risk to humans.
“We’re going to great lengths to double-pasteurise dairy products to neutralise any possible traces of FMD. We’re doing this because humans can act as vectors – for instance, by giving spoiled, unpasteurised milk to pigs,” Burger said. Alternatively, milk can undergo ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatment, which is used in the creation of long-life milk.
Dr Mark Chimes, veterinary advisor and manager of the Animal Health and Welfare Programme for Milk SA, emphasises that while FMD can be transmitted through raw (unpasteurised) milk, it only poses a threat to cloven-hoofed animals.
To ensure safe dairy on South Africa’s shelves, milk from quarantined farms may only be moved if a special Red Cross permit was obtained from the area’s state vet. The products manufactured from these batches of milk must be traceable all the way from the farm up to the supermarket shelf, Dr Chimes said. “All milk from quarantined farms must be either double pasteurised or UHT treated before bottling or before being used to make other dairy products.”
Furthermore, none of these products may be exported. “The measures are to ensure that the disease is not spread under animals. These measures are not for human safety reasons since the disease does not affect humans.” – Susan Marais, Plaas Media
