The objective of Texas A&M EuFMD Virtual Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Real-Time Training Course is to provide continuing professional development for animal health professionals in the US by providing knowledge and skills on FMD outbreak investigation and management.

Learning objectives are to:

• Describe the global distribution, significance and impacts of FMD, and the risks and consequences of an FMD outbreak; 
• Recognize the clinical signs of FMD, based on first-hand field experience of clinical cases; 
• Estimate lesion ages and take appropriate clinical records; 
• Take appropriate samples to permit laboratory confirmation of disease, and submit them to the laboratory appropriately; 
• Interpret laboratory results following submission of suspect FMD samples to the laboratory; 
• Understand the epidemiology of FMD, including risk factors for transmission, mechanisms of disease spread, construction of timelines and forward and backward tracing; 
• Apply epidemiological principles to on-farm and in-field investigations, including design of investigation forms; 
• Understand the principles of biosecurity and their application to personnel entering into FMD infected premises; 
• Undertake rapid assessments for risk factors (and/or biosecurity practices) for FMD cases at farm level; 
• Outline FMD emergency preparedness activities and disease response options available in their country; 

The expected impact is raised awareness of FMD among trainees, and being better equipped to respond to FMD if there was an outbreak in the US.

The virtual portion of the course will be held in 3 hour blocks held over five days: 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 November 2021.