Infectious Diseases of Domestic Animals

The outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Miyazaki Prefecture in 2010 has turned out to be the most striking disaster in the history of animal hygiene in Japan, from the points such as the number of the animals culled and buried or the human resources required until the time of termination. Inquiry committees for FMD countermeasures established by Miyazaki Prefecture and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have pointed out the various issues in disease control measures taken during the period starting from the outbreak till the termination. As a result, amendments were made to the Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control in April of 2011, and in October, to the Standards of Rearing Hygiene Management. The outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Miyazaki Prefecture in 2010 has turned out to be the most striking disaster in the history of animal hygiene in Japan, from the points such as the number of the animals culled and buried or the human resources required until the time of termination. Inquiry committees for FMD countermeasures established by Miyazaki Prefecture and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have pointed out the various issues in disease control measures taken during the period starting from the outbreak till the termination. As a result, amendments were made to the Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control in April of 2011, and in October, to the Standards of Rearing Hygiene Management. Diseases that cause damage to domestic animals including FMD are presented in this special issue. I hope that this special issue will contribute to the betterment of animal hygiene and furthermore to the enhancement of dietary life. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the authors and reviewers for their great contributions to this issue.