Which species is commonly cited as an amplifier host for Foot-and-Mouth Disease due to high airborne virus production?

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Multiple Choice

Which species is commonly cited as an amplifier host for Foot-and-Mouth Disease due to high airborne virus production?

Pigs are especially efficient at generating aerosols that contain Foot-and-Mouth Disease virus, which makes them amplifier hosts. After infection, the virus replicates heavily in the upper respiratory tract, and pigs produce large amounts of virus in breath, saliva, and nasal secretions. This leads to abundant aerosolized virus that can spread rapidly through air, especially in crowded herds, driving widespread transmission. Other species can shed virus, but not at the same high airborne levels; cattle may shed some but typically less in aerosols, and sheep or goats tend to shed even less. That combination of heavy aerosol production and rapid spread is why pigs are commonly cited as amplifier hosts.

Pigs are especially efficient at generating aerosols that contain Foot-and-Mouth Disease virus, which makes them amplifier hosts. After infection, the virus replicates heavily in the upper respiratory tract, and pigs produce large amounts of virus in breath, saliva, and nasal secretions. This leads to abundant aerosolized virus that can spread rapidly through air, especially in crowded herds, driving widespread transmission. Other species can shed virus, but not at the same high airborne levels; cattle may shed some but typically less in aerosols, and sheep or goats tend to shed even less. That combination of heavy aerosol production and rapid spread is why pigs are commonly cited as amplifier hosts.

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