Airborne spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Saskatchewan, Canada, 1951-1952.

Farms affected with foot-and-mouth disease during the epidemic in Saskatchewan, in 1951-1952, for which the origin of virus was not known or uncertain, were studied to determine if infection could have been introduced by the airborne route. A short-range Gaussian plume dispersion model was used to estimate the concentration of virus downwind and the dose available for individual animals. The investigation suggested that a large virus source due to infected pigs in a feedlot in January 1952 could have been responsible for airborne dispersion northwestwards downwind to farms up to 20 km distant. Subsequent spread from these farms was to neighboring farms and was influenced by the local topography of a creek. The dispersion model could be used for predicting airborne spread if foot-and-mouth disease should occur.