About FAO News Multimedia Main topics Statistics Members Publications

Animal health

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD)

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD)

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is the main transboundary animal disease threat to European livestock production. A single introduction of the viral disease often has extremely serious impacts, as it is highly infectious and spreads easily, causing fever, lameness and sometimes death.

Out of a global population of around 1.8 billion large ruminants (such as cattle), one billion are in countries where FMD is endemic. It is estimated that up to a quarter of these animals are affected by the disease every year, although only a fraction of cases are officially reported. Hundreds of millions of livestock owners are heavily affected as a consequence of the disease due to direct and indirect losses, which can have devastating impacts in areas where many people are dependent on livestock.

In endemic areas, the total cost of FMD in terms of vaccination and production losses, is on average USD 11 billion per year. While in FMD-free areas, the cost is around USD 1.5 billion per year (Knight-Jones & Rushton, 2013).

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) of FAO, plays a significant role in reducing the relevant risk of FMD and ensuring better preparedness for outbreaks across 39 Member countries and European neighbours. The EuFMD delivers training, modelling of FMD control measures to guide emergency planning, and in-country support to FMD Progressive Control Programmes. This helps to advance the global Progressive Control Pathway for FMD Control, as part of the Global FMD Control Strategy. The scope of preparedness and risk reduction activities has also been extended to similar transboundary animal diseases that pose an immediate threat to members.

The EuFMD focuses on three pillars:

  • Improving preparedness for management of FMD and similar transboundary animal disease crises by Members and across Europe;
  • Reducing risk to Members from FMD and similar transboundary animal diseases in the European neighboorhood;
  • Sustaining and enhancing progress of the Global FMD Control Strategy and increasing security of effective FMD vaccine supply.

Under a framework of co-ordination with the European Commission DG-SANTE, FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health, and with support from the Pirbright Institute, the EuFMD’s work has contributed to the achievement that the EU has not had an outbreak of FMD since 2011, despite infection circulating in countries neighbouring to some EU members.