Only four persons interviewed had personal memories of the outbreak that occurred in the early 1950's. Two of them had been involved as veterinarians in the 1950's. Now 82 years old a zootechnician (who worked in the 1950's) recalled that people wondered at the time how the disease suddenly came to Estonia and why. There had never been such a disease in Estonia before according their knowledge. Since most of the respondents had directly or indirectly experienced the outbreak, in general, their recollections were similar in several respects, such as the procedure for quarantine, farm lockdowns, disinfection mats on roads, militia guards at farm gates and so on. A zootechnician (aged 82) recalled the control of the disease as follows: "When I studied to be a zootechnic at vocational school in the 1950's, all the students were taken to the dairy farms. There we had to wash the mouths of the animals with a solution of potassium permanganate. The animals were kept for as little time as possible in the barns during the summer. The reason was because the cows' hooves become more damaged inside in the wet manure. The barns were disinfected with lime and ash water. Ash was gathered from the people by the village."
There are no reports or news stories in the newspapers about the FMD outbreak in 1982/1983. The first announcement about the FMD appeared in a national newspaper in November and December. Again, it was not written that there was any disease in Estonia at all, but information was given as to how to recognize and control the disease. People were warned that the disease could also be transmitted to humans, yet it was said that processed meat (canned and sausages) from sick animals could be eaten and pasteurized milk could be drunk.
Due to the FMD epidemic in England in 2001, the topic of FMD became very popular in the media. In 2001, detailed recollections of the 1982 outbreak also appeared in the press. In one of them, a worker of the Vandra Kolkhoz recalled his experiences and comments were taken by Endel Aaver and an interview with Chief Inspector Mati Loit at the Veterinary Government of the Estonian SSR. The topic was also covered a few years later where the manager of the cattle unit of the Laatre Sovkhoz recalled his experiences. The harsh control techniques in the UK were similar to those in Estonia in 1982. People were locked in barns such in Laatre dairy farm (South Estonia), nearly 30 workers were enclosed for 42 days. Also, in Vandra cattle farm 10 workers were isolated for more than 30 days. Employees were not told they had to stay in the barn for weeks so at first, they did not take their personal belongings with them. The gate doors of the cattle farms were guarded by militia 24-h a day. There were also strict rules inside the farm, men and women slept in separate rooms and drinking alcohol was forbidden. Also, vaccination of the animals started immediately. The milk from diseased cows was first added to dung for disposal, later it was pasteurized on site and fed to calves and vaccinated cows (in some cases to pigs). Hundreds of sick animals were moved to a meat processing plant after the end of the quarantine period. The abattoir was then subsequently disinfected. Everything had to be kept secret. For example, a veterinarian who accidentally mentioned the disease on the radio was punished. Rumors spread that it was an experiment and that the animals were intentionally infected. The reasons for the rumors were: the disease spread among the most advanced and hygienic farms (disinfection mats at the farm entrance, warning signs at the gates), previous secret searches on the farm, unknown people with large sums of money. The manager of the cattle unit of the Laatre Sovkhoz remembered that the situation on the disease had to be reported every day to unknown anonymous Russian-speaking officials. Disease control specialists were also brought to Estonia from other parts of USSR.
Aaver and Mati Loit said that in 1982 a total of eight outbreaks occurred in Estonia. According to Aaver, the FMD arrived in Estonia from Belarus through Lithuania and Latvia and reached the sea in the Western part of Estonia. However, there is not much information about the outbreaks in Lithuanian and Latvian SSR in 1982, but in years 1986 and 1987. In addition, Aaver pointed out that more than 30 people from Moscow, who had seen FMD in USSR almost every year, came to aid Estonian specialists at that time. Analysing the wind directions at that time, it has been concluded by researchers that the disease could be spread by the wind. It was found that when the direction of the prevailing wind changed, the infection also decreased.
The 1982 outbreak reached the foreign media very quickly. During World War II, almost 80,000 Estonians fled abroad for fear of repression by the Soviet authorities. The largest diaspora was formed in Sweden. Estonians abroad maintained active communication with relatives who remained in their homeland. Thus, the first warnings of the disease in November in the national newspaper of the Estonian SSR reached numerous foreign Estonian newspapers in December 4: in Sweden, Canada, the USA, and Australia. However, in addition to official sources, foreign Estonian newspapers also relied on direct sources, which were letters from Estonia. Thus, the actual extent of the disease and the control measures were known abroad quite quickly and in detail. The disease spread from Russia to Lithuania and Latvia in the spring, and from there to Estonia in the autumn. The letters from Estonia SSR, also show that there was a great shortage of food in Estonia and ideological pressure was increasing. It is noted that, due to FMD, foodstuffs were no longer transported (exported) from Estonia SSR to the domestic market of the USSR and therefore more goods were available in the shops in Estonia. The few tourists that visited the Estonian SSR also reported on the control and spread of the disease. It was repeatedly emphasized that the Soviet Union denied any outbreak of the disease. However, Sweden suspended imports of reindeer, elk and bear meat from the USSR and Finland suspended the ferry service. However, the foreign press did not know the whole truth at the beginning. It was initially thought that infected animals would be killed in Estonia and then burned or buried. However, this was not done.
As early as March 1983, a report appeared in US infectious disease reports mentioning an outbreak in the Baltic Soviet republics. However, there was no overview of the actual situation as reported. "However, detailed information is not forthcoming from this region" but the June issue states that "The USSR has denied any outbreaks occurring in its Baltic regions / : /".
Two respondents (a zootechnian aged 69 and a veterinarian aged 71) who worked at the country's first large farm in South Estonia highlighted that the dairy farm had been closed for 43 days, from November to the end of December, including Christmas. One of them believes that the disease was brought to the farm intentionally, in other words for training purposes. Respondents added that the disease was noticed when two cows began to exhibit the symptoms of the disease: bite their mouths, producing foam in mouth and intensive saliva flow.
One reason for intentional outbreak was that the farm was the production farm of the state animal science research institute, which had modern furnishings and living rooms for the employees (sauna, kitchen, rest rooms), which were not available on other collective farms. This played an important role in combatting FMD on the farm, and about 14-16 people were trapped in the barn. In addition to treating and feeding the animals, staff and clothing and other supplies had to be disinfected on a regular basis. The workload was several times higher than usual because the staff could not leave the farm. After the closure of the farm, beds and mattresses were brought to the staff. Food was provided on a daily basis, and one milking lady began to work as a chef. At that time there was a very strict order on the territory of the farm, there was no access for strangers either. There was a 24-h militia guard at the gate. Those trapped on the farm did not see their family members, children or other relatives. This was very difficult psychologically for all the staff in addition to the physical load.
Another reason of intentional outbreak given by respondents was that somebody called every day at 9 o'clock and asked in Russian about the number of animals that were sick and if there were any dead animals. This raised doubts as they were not told who it was who called every morning and asked for these details. It is important to highlight that it was very common in the Soviet Union to conduct training exercises to practice actions for major accidents, including outbreaks of animal diseases, as part of civil protection exercises. Although there are several indications in the respondents' answers that the animals were intentionally infected with FMD, it should not be forgotten that the disease had been detected in the neighboring republic a few months earlier. In the north of Latvia SSR; Tallinn Zoo was closed in 1982 for about 6 months. As the zoo was visited by a significant number of Latvian visitors each year, the zoo had to be closed to avoid FMD. One of the interviewees mentioned that Tallinn Zoo had one of the most representative collections of Bovines and mountain goats in the world. The 1982 FMD outbreak also meant for the zoo that animal feed (such as hay) had to be purchased from Western Estonia instead of the usual southern regions, as there was no imminent threat of FMD from the west.
Another major issue that emerges from the survey is the various restrictions, such as road closures and the restrictions on people in the farm and the resulting trauma. One of the respondents (agronomist, aged 76) "people had fear because everyone had animals in their household." A former veterinarian (aged 84) reported: "People knew about the outbreak in southern Estonia. People were very afraid. The authorities also vaccinated one-cow farmers (the authors:cows were kept in virtually every household in rural areas)." A zootechnician (aged 74) narrated: "Cabbages and turnips remained in the field in the affected area because movement in that area was prohibited." A former farm manager (aged 69), remembered: "14-16 people were locked in on the farm. There was a lot of work. There were militia at the gate. The children could only be seen through the fence, as many as the spouse could hold." Several respondents also stated: "The restrictions were very strict at the time. In some places, roads were even dug up to distract traffic." "At the border of the districts there were disinfection mats, the driver had to come out of the cab, and walk across the mats. The shoes smelled afterwards. There was constant guarding of those mats. Almost half a year, but it varied by region; in general, restrictions lasted almost half a year" (agronomist, aged 76). A veterinarian (aged 66) stated that "veterinary students were taught at the university model-based disease control: blocking of roads, bridges and farms during potential animal disease outbreaks. Control instructions were described in detail. Informative posters near farms were common. Barriers at farms and on roads too."
It was also mentioned on a few occasions that the manure of the sick cows had to be stored separately, which could not be used as organic fertilizer for years. In some places, dead calves were also burned on bonfires near the cattle unit.
When the udders had sores, the milkers protected their hands with rubber gloves while milking. Udder wounds were smeared with zinc ointment, but also udders smeared with ointments. Outside the kolkhoz, people were only allowed to have one cow at home, so the animals were kept in barns at home very carefully. During the period of FMD the milker was detained on the farm, and food was brought into the barn. Some cleaned the barns during the outbreak with juniper smoke and the Russian Orthodox believers near Lake Peipus also brought water consecrated from the church and watered the animals with this. Folk medicine was no longer used in the kolkhozes, but there are some indications of this being used by single cow owners. A former veterinary scientist (aged 74) said: "The cow was still being treated by a veterinarian, folk medicine was not used at the time." FMD vaccine was thought to have been available in the early 1980's as the disease spread across the Soviet Union. This was confirmed by several respondents, one (zootechnician, aged 69) stated that: "Vaccination started immediately in cases of the disease. No animals were killed as a result." This involved a great deal of effort. The cows that were caught were heavily blistered and could not eat normally and it was necessary to prepare a mixture of boiled milk (which could not be sold for human consumption) and grain meal, as it was not possible to feed hay because of the sharp stems irritating the blistered mouths of the cow. A zootechnician (aged 69): "It was painful for the cow to eat hay. They ate a little silage as it was softer." This meant that sick animals had to be fed several times a day to avoid loss of body condition. A veterinarian (aged 71) added: "The cows' mouths were rinsed with a copper preparation. Blisters and sores were also present on the hooves, which were smeared with ointments." It was also mentioned on several occasions that, because the animal was in pain, it led to thinness. It also meant a significant decline in milk yield, even after the cows had recovered. A zootechnician (aged 69) said: "The cows' milk yields did not recover after the end of the quarantine. However, the animals themselves recovered, their body weight returned to normal and the cows were alive." Interviews revealed that one large farm in South Estonia was able to prevent deaths due to huge efforts by the farm personnel, but another farm in the same region had more serious cases, resulting even in dead animals.
One veterinarian described the activities during high risk of FMD at a dairy farm in Central Estonia. The story of one veterinarian (aged 85) was as follows: One day in year 1982, at 4 pm, the head of the Tartu District Veterinary Service convened the chief veterinarians of all the farms in Tartu district and distributed vaccines. By the evening of the same day at 11.30 pm, more than 3,000 cattle from our state farm, including 980 cows, had been vaccinated. Everything happened at lightning speed. This prevented the greatest danger. Tartu district is one of the few where there was no foot-and-mouth disease. In any case, the Chief Veterinary Officer of Tartu District later received a letter of honor and/or a letter of thanks from the Veterinary Government of the Ministry of Agriculture. The veterinarian added: "We were given information about foot-and-mouth disease at the monthly meetings of the chief veterinarians, and this was discussed at several meetings. As mentioned above, there were 3,000 cattle in the state farm, and about 12,000 piglets were produced each year. I had a total of 110 livestock workers, including three veterinarians and one assistant veterinarian. Stockpersons, together with the respective regional department heads, made every effort to prevent the spread of the disease. There were disinfection mats in front of both the large farm and each of the smaller barns, as well as a very large and long disinfection bath, where the long semi-trailers bringing concentrate feed could completely wet the wheel tires with disinfectant. These lorries were also disinfected by a trained specialist. A separate topic was the protective clothing of stockpersons and others, to which we paid more attention than before. The fact that many workers had cattle and pigs at home was alarming. The infection could potentially have started there as well. The FMD of 1982 passed our state farm, but the older milking ladies and workers remembered the beginning of the collective farm foot-and-mouth disease in 1952, when the children could not see their parents and the livestock workers had to live and sleep in the stable for weeks."
A zootechnician (aged 69) mentioned that "many animals suffered but recovered, while milk yields declined remarkably." The milk was not allowed to be transported out of the farm, it had to be fed either to youngstock or to cows. For this reason, a boiler was brought to the farm to pasteurize the milk. However, the affected animals sooner or later had to be culled. The interviewee added: A total of 92 animals were taken to the slaughterhouse, but in fact worse and thinner cows were sent there at first. However, a year after the disease outbreak, a large number of the animals had to be taken to a meat processing plant, a total of 1,400 animals. This was required by the veterinary regulations. The meat of the affected animals was made into canned food, i.e., the meat had to be heat-treated. And a stockperson (aged 82) remembered: "Animals who were weakened by the disease were transferred to a meat processing plant. The meat was kept there for a day in a bath with a solution of potassium permanganate before it was processed."
The outbreak of the disease meant that foodstuffs of animal origin could no longer be placed on the domestic market of the USSR and more of these goods were sold in the shops of the Estonian SSR. For example, one respondent (researcher, aged 83) mentioned: "Foot-and-mouth disease closed the borders of Soviet Estonia. The butter came back for sale in food stores because it was no longer allowed to send parcels with food products to other Soviet republics. At that time, it was common that people of Russian speaking nationalities (e.g., workers at large factories) sent a monthly package of food products to their relatives to other republics."