Foot-and-mouth disease: Technical and political challenges to eradication

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly-contagious livestock disease with global socioeconomic ramifications. The disease negatively impacts both individual farmers through reduced herd viability and nations through trade restrictions of animals and animal derivatives. Vaccines for FMD prevention have existed for over 70 years, yet the disease remains enzootic in a large percentage of the globe. FMD persistence is due in part to technical limitations of historic and current vaccine technologies. There also exist many socioeconomic and political barriers to global FMD eradication. Here we highlight the barriers to eradication and discuss potential avenues toward FMD eradication.