Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep: Early Signs and Emergency Response
- See your vet immediately if a sheep has sudden lameness, drooling, fever, or blisters and raw sores in the mouth or around the feet.
- Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals. In sheep, signs can be mild, so early cases are easy to miss.
- Do not move affected sheep, equipment, trailers, feed tubs, or people between groups until your vet or animal health officials advise you.
- Diagnosis cannot be confirmed by appearance alone. Laboratory testing is needed because other diseases can look similar.
- Typical immediate veterinary and regulatory response cost range in the U.S. is about $0-$500 out of pocket for the pet parent or producer for the first farm call and exam, but costs and compensation rules vary widely because this is a reportable foreign animal disease and state or federal officials may direct testing and response.
What Is Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep?
See your vet immediately. Foot-and-mouth disease, often called FMD, is a highly contagious viral disease that affects sheep and other cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, and some wildlife. It is caused by an Aphthovirus in the family Picornaviridae. Infected animals can develop fever and blister-like lesions on the mouth, lips, tongue, teats, and feet.
In sheep, the disease can be especially hard to spot. Compared with cattle, sheep often show milder or even inapparent signs, and lameness may be the first clue. Mouth lesions may be shallow and easy to miss. That matters because sheep with subtle signs can still help spread infection within a flock or between farms.
FMD is not the same disease as hand, foot, and mouth disease in people. It is also considered a major animal health emergency because it spreads quickly and can disrupt animal movement, marketing, and trade. In the United States, any suspected case should be treated as an emergency and reported right away through your vet and animal health officials.
Symptoms of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep
- Sudden lameness or reluctance to walk
- Blisters, erosions, or raw sores in the mouth
- Drooling or stringy saliva
- Fever, depression, or reduced appetite
- Lesions around the feet or above the hooves
- Weight loss or poor thrift
- Drop in milk production in lactating ewes
- Sudden death in young lambs
When to worry? Right away. Any sheep with new lameness plus mouth sores, drooling, fever, or multiple affected flockmates needs urgent veterinary attention. Because sheep can have mild signs, even one suspicious animal matters.
Keep the sheep where it is, limit people and vehicle traffic, and avoid sharing boots, tools, feeders, or trailers with other groups until your vet gives instructions. Other conditions, including footrot, bluetongue, contagious ecthyma, and vesicular diseases, can look similar, so visual inspection alone is not enough.
What Causes Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep?
Foot-and-mouth disease is caused by the foot-and-mouth disease virus. There are multiple serotypes, and immunity to one does not reliably protect against all others. The virus spreads very efficiently among susceptible cloven-hoofed animals.
Sheep can become infected through direct contact with infected animals, contaminated equipment, feed areas, trailers, clothing, footwear, or facilities. The virus can also spread through animal movements and, under some conditions, by aerosols over distance. Because signs in sheep may be mild, infected animals can be moved before anyone realizes there is a problem.
This is why emergency response focuses on rapid recognition, strict movement control, and official testing. If FMD is suspected, your vet may involve state or federal animal health authorities immediately. That is a normal and necessary part of protecting the flock and nearby livestock.
How Is Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep Diagnosed?
FMD cannot be diagnosed by appearance alone. Your vet will start with a flock history, recent animal movements, travel or visitor exposure, and a careful exam of the mouth, feet, and overall condition. In sheep, lameness may be the main clue, so a thorough foot exam matters.
If FMD is suspected, your vet will treat it as a reportable animal health emergency. Samples are collected for laboratory testing rather than relying on field diagnosis. Fresh vesicular epithelium from a new lesion is considered especially useful for virus testing, and additional samples may be taken based on official guidance.
Your vet will also consider other diseases that can mimic FMD, including footrot, contagious ecthyma, bluetongue, and other vesicular or erosive conditions. Because the response has major flock and regulatory implications, do not move animals for a second opinion without instructions from your vet or animal health officials.
Treatment Options for Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep
Spectrum of Care means you have options. Here are treatment tiers at different price points.
Budget-Conscious Care
- Immediate call to your vet and animal health officials if advised
- Strict on-farm isolation of suspect sheep
- Stopping animal movement on and off the property
- Dedicated boots, coveralls, buckets, and handling tools for the affected group
- Basic supportive nursing only if your vet and officials approve
Recommended Standard Treatment
- Urgent on-farm veterinary examination
- Official reporting and coordination with state or federal animal health teams
- Diagnostic sample collection and submission
- Flock movement restrictions and exposure tracing
- Supportive care plans for pain, hydration, nutrition, and wound management as directed by your vet
Advanced / Critical Care
- Intensive supportive care for severely affected animals if permitted
- Advanced wound and hoof management for painful lesions
- Fluid therapy, nutritional support, and close monitoring under veterinary direction
- Expanded biosecurity, disinfection, and flock management planning
- Coordination with official disease control measures, which may include depopulation or vaccination strategies depending on jurisdiction and outbreak policy
Cost estimates as of 2026-03. Actual costs vary by location, clinic, and individual case.
Questions to Ask Your Vet About Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep
Bring these questions to your vet appointment to get the most out of your visit.
- Which signs in this sheep make foot-and-mouth disease a concern rather than footrot or another common cause of lameness?
- Should I stop all animal, vehicle, and visitor movement on the farm right now?
- What samples need to be collected, and who will coordinate testing and reporting?
- Which sheep or other livestock on the property count as exposed?
- What cleaning and disinfection steps should we start today, and which products are appropriate for this virus?
- How should we handle feeding, milking, lamb care, and chore order while the flock is under investigation?
- What signs in lambs would suggest heart involvement or an emergency decline?
- What costs may fall to us directly, and what parts of the response may be handled through state or federal animal health programs?
How to Prevent Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sheep
Prevention starts with biosecurity and early reporting. Work with your vet to build a flock health plan that covers new arrivals, visitor access, trailer sanitation, shared equipment, and what to do if a sheep develops sudden lameness or mouth lesions. Any suspicious case should be reported immediately rather than watched for a few days.
Practical steps include isolating new or returning animals, keeping records of animal movements, cleaning and disinfecting boots and tools, and avoiding shared equipment between groups unless it has been properly sanitized. Limit unnecessary visitors in animal areas, and use separate clothing or footwear for different barns or pens when possible.
Travel and import-related precautions matter too. Animal health authorities advise people returning from countries with FMD risk not to bring prohibited animal products or contaminated clothing and footwear into the United States. If your flock has contact with markets, shows, or outside transport, ask your vet how to tighten entry protocols.
Vaccination policy varies by country and outbreak situation, so do not assume routine vaccination is available or appropriate. In the United States, prevention relies heavily on surveillance, rapid diagnosis, movement control, and coordinated response by your vet and animal health officials.