Abstract
In recent years, the emergence of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in previously unaffected regions has become a serious concern. Although the routes of incursion remain unclear, transportation of contaminated products is a major risk factor. Here, we report the first isolation of infectious FMDV from illegally brought animal product confiscated by the Animal Quarantine Service of Japan. Among the animal products prohibited from being imported into Japan, the FMDV gene was detected in two types of meat products, goat meat and sausages, which were confiscated from passenger luggage and international parcel from China, respectively. Infectious FMDV was isolated from only one of the products, epithelial tissues of goat hoof, despite the absence of apparent vesicular lesions. The isolate belonged to the Ind-2001e lineage within the ME-SA topotype of serotype O (O/ME-SA), which has spread widely across Central, Southeast, and East Asia. Whole-genome sequencing demonstrated close genetic relationships with isolates from Myanmar and Indonesia. In the other product, the sausages, FMDV gene belonging to the O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage was detected, which has not been officially reported since 2023. Although the details of the materials were unclear, this detection may suggest that a greater number and variety of viruses are circulating silently in the field. These results provide evidence for cryptic yet critical FMDV transboundary movements and animal products without gross vesicular lesions can serve as routes for FMDV transmission. This highlights the crucial role of animal quarantine measures in preventing FMDV incursion.