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Vesicular stomatitis: Vesicular stomatitis
is a viral disease that can affect horses, swine, cattle, and other ruminants.
It causes affected livestock to develop blisters in the mouth and on the dental
pad, hooves, and teats. These blisters swell and break, leaving raw tissue that
causes affected animals to become lame and to refuse food and water. The disease
also is of concern because its symptoms are similar to those of foot-and-mouth
disease, a devastating foreign disease of clovenhoofed animals that was
eradicated from the United States in 1929. The only way to diagnose and differentiate these diseases is through laboratory tests. There was an
occurrence of vesicular stomatitis in the southwestern United States in
1985, in 1995, and again in 1998. People who handle infected
animals also can become infected. APHIS is working with state officials to
identify all cases of the disease and prevent its spread.
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