Use of vaccination against foot and mouth disease in zoo animals, endangered species and exceptionally valuable animals.

A historical review of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in non-domestic species is given and the use of FMD vaccines to protect those species is described. Several non-domestic species are susceptible to FMD. Legislation in many countries, based on the definition of FMD-free status as determined by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE: World organisation for animal health), forms an important barrier against the use of vaccines. National authorities may even feel obliged to slaughter animals of threatened species protected by international agreements during an outbreak of FMD to preserve their FMD-free status. The importance of international breeding programmes for endangered species is forcing the international community to reconsider the role that vaccination against FMD should play in animal health prevention programmes of captive populations. Much research is still required in regard to vaccine types and diagnostic procedures. Species-specific differences in susceptibility to FMD make this a challenging research topic for zoological institutions.