< >  Literature Reports of GENERAL NURSING AND SUPPORTIVE CARE TECHNIQUES for Foot and Mouth Disease:

Nursing and Intensive Care

Supportive care is recommended in endemic areas where there is no slaughter policy and may greatly reduce the development of secondary infections.

In areas of the world where slaughter of animals with clinical signs of foot-and-mouth disease is not mandatory, and in the case of infection in very important animals where an exception to an automatic slaughter policy might be given, nursing and supportive care are important for the welfare of the individual animal and to minimise the time for which it is clinically affected.

However, with severe disease and particularly if there are severe secondary infections and complications, culling may be preferable on the grounds of the welfare of the animal and also the prevention of additional losses to the farmer due to animals which are "poor doers".

(B207, B211, B214.3.7.w3, D34, J79.11.w1)

Not recommended in countries where there is a slaughter policy for FMD control (D34)

• Supportive treatment may be used in countries where FMD is enzootic to assist healing, particularly of foot lesions (D34).
• Mild disinfectant and protective dressings may be applied to affected areas to prevent secondary infection (B207, B211)
• Flunixine meglumine is reported to produce a good symptomatic response (B207, B211).
• Supportive care in the form of a good dry straw bed and the use of a copper sulphate-based astringent solution were used on tapirs in the outbreak in the Paris zoo in the 1930s (J79.11.w1)
• Symptomatic treatment reported for elephants included high doses of antibiotics, rinsing the mouth with mild astringents and antiseptic and orthopaedic treatment of the feet (B214.3.7.w3)

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