True/False: African swine fever, classical swine fever, and foot and mouth disease are clinically indistinguishable.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not enough information
• D. They are identical in all aspects of presentation

Answer: (B)

Not all three diseases look the same to the eye. The key difference is the pattern of lesions they produce. Foot-and-mouth disease has the classic vesicular disease pattern—vesicles and erosions on the mouth, tongue, snout, and often on the feet, along with excessive salivation and lameness. African swine fever and classical swine fever, while both causing severe systemic illness with fever, depression, reduced appetite, and often hemorrhagic or reproductive signs, do not typically present with vesicles. Because field signs can overlap, you shouldn’t rely on clinical observation alone to distinguish them, and lab tests (PCR, antigen/antibody assays, or virus isolation) are essential for a definitive diagnosis.

So the statement is not correct; these diseases are not clinically indistinguishable.