Which animals are the maintenance hosts for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus?

Which animals are the maintenance hosts for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus?

• A. Pigs
• B. Sheep and goats
• C. Dairy cows
• D. Beef cows

Answer: (B)

In Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus epidemiology, different host species play different roles in persistence and spread. Sheep and goats can harbor the virus with mild or even subclinical infections, and they tend to shed virus for extended periods. This combination allows the virus to persist in a herd or region between outbreaks, keeping transmission going even when obvious disease isn’t widespread. That makes them the maintenance hosts. Pigs, by contrast, tend to generate large amounts of virus quickly when infected and drive rapid spread during an outbreak (amplifying hosts), but they don’t typically sustain the virus during inter-epidemic periods in the same way small ruminants can. Dairy and beef cattle are highly susceptible and important in transmission dynamics, but the role described as maintenance—keeping the virus alive between outbreaks—fits sheep and goats.

In Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus epidemiology, different host species play different roles in persistence and spread. Sheep and goats can harbor the virus with mild or even subclinical infections, and they tend to shed virus for extended periods. This combination allows the virus to persist in a herd or region between outbreaks, keeping transmission going even when obvious disease isn’t widespread. That makes them the maintenance hosts.

Pigs, by contrast, tend to generate large amounts of virus quickly when infected and drive rapid spread during an outbreak (amplifying hosts), but they don’t typically sustain the virus during inter-epidemic periods in the same way small ruminants can. Dairy and beef cattle are highly susceptible and important in transmission dynamics, but the role described as maintenance—keeping the virus alive between outbreaks—fits sheep and goats.