The virus commonly persists in animal feed and is able to survive environmentally for up to one month. Eradication of FMD in endemic areas has been difficult, despite the availability of a vaccine.

Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) was first isolated from horses in the 1960s and 1970s showing acute febrile respiratory disease signs, including fever, cough, clear nasal discharge and lethargy. Given its similarity to the common cold in humans (caused by another picornavirus, rhinovirus), ERAV was initially