FMD is clinically indistinguishable from other vesicular diseases (e.g. swine vesicular viral disease, vesicular stomatitis); appropriate laboratory diagnostics or exclusion of the disease by laboratory tests is therefore essential.

Suitable sample materials are

• Epithelium of unruptured or freshly ruptured vesicles (aphthae) in dry, sterile screw-top tubes or in a suitable transport medium (see below)
• Vesicle contents in dry, sterile screw-top tubes
• Swabs (e.g. swabs from older ruptured vesicles, or nasal/vengeance swabs for suspected FMD without clear changes)
• Whole blood (note: whole blood alone is not sufficient for diagnosis due to the short viraemia; tissue, vesicle contents or swabs must also be examined!)
• Milk (for dairy cattle - collective milk sample)
• Oesophageal/pharyngeal fluid (so-called probang samples) are primarily suitable for detecting chronic infections and should not be sent in acute cases of suspicion or exclusion

After notification, the sample materials should be sent to the analysing laboratory as quickly as possible (ideally with coolants) in compliance with the relevant transport regulations (UN3373) and by a suitable logistics company.