The global distribution of these serotypes is not even:
  • Serotypes A and O can be found in most FMD endemic regions, with the exception of southern Africa;
  • The Asia 1 serotype can be found in the FMD endemic regions of Asia;
  • The African buffalo is the natural host for the Southern African Territories (SAT) serotypes. Serotypes SAT 1 and SAT 2 can be found throughout Africa, while SAT 3 is limited to southern and a small area in eastern Africa;
  • FMDV serotype C has not been detected since 2004 (in Kenya and Brazil), so it is possible that this serotype is no longer circulating.

Official FMD Status of OIE member states

List of OIE Member Countries officially recognised as free from Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) by the WOAH.

WOAH List of FMD free Members

Global conjectured FMD status


(click on the map to open a large version in a new window).

Distribution of the seven endemic pools of Foot-and-Mouth Disease showing conjectured status of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in countries during 2015.

Virus circulation and evolution within these regional virus pools results in changing priorities for appropriately adapted vaccines. Periodically, viruses spread between pools and to free regions, and countries at the interfaces between pools (such as in North Africa and Central Asia) often experience FMD outbreaks from different regional sources.

Note on Pools 4-6: In Africa there are currently three FMD virus pools loosely defined as covering East Africa (pool 4), West Africa (pool 5) and Southern Africa (pool 6). There is some overlap between pools 4 and 5. It has been suggested to extend pool 4 southwards to include Tanzania and to contract pool 6 to exclude that country (© WRLFMD).