Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can be found in all secretions and excretions and the breath of acutely infected animals. FMDV can survive in the environment, providing an opportunity for surveillance. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of sampling methods for the recovery and quantification of FMDV from a range of environmental surfaces and in aerosols. Selected surfaces, based on those likely to be found on farms, were spiked with a range of concentrations of FMDV, left to dry and then the surface was swabbed with an electrostatic dust cloth. For aerosol sampling, FMDV was nebulised at different concentrations and distances from the sampler. Recovery of viral RNA and infectious virus was measured by RT-qPCR and virus isolation respectively. FMDV RNA was detected from all surfaces at all concentrations except from glass. Infectious virus was recovered from all surfaces but only at higher concentrations. The higher the starting concentration of virus the more efficient the recovery was from surfaces and recovery was more consistent from non-porous surfaces than porous surfaces. FMDV was detected in aerosol samples and the amount of virus recovered decreased as the distance between the nebuliser and sampler increased. The higher the starting concentration of virus the more efficient the recovery was from sampled aerosols. The information provided in this study could be used to direct environmental and aerosol sampling approaches in the field and improve the detection efficiency of FMDV from an environment, thus extending the toolbox available for diagnosis and surveillance of this pathogen.

口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）可以在急性感染动物的所有分泌物和排泄物以及呼吸中发现。口蹄疫病毒可以在环境中生存，为监视提供了机会。本研究的目的是评估从一系列环境表面和气溶胶中回收和量化 FMDV 的采样方法的效率。根据可能在农场发现的表面，选定的表面加入一定浓度的 FMDV，晾干，然后用静电除尘布擦拭表面。对于气溶胶采样，FMDV 以不同的浓度和与采样器的距离雾化。病毒 RNA 和传染性病毒的回收率分别通过 RT-qPCR 和病毒分离进行测量。除玻璃外，所有浓度的所有表面均检测到 FMDV RNA。从所有表面都回收到传染性病毒，但浓度较高。病毒的起始浓度越高，从表面的回收效率就越高，并且从无孔表面的回收比多孔表面的回收更一致。在气溶胶样品中检测到 FMDV，随着雾化器和采样器之间距离的增加，回收的病毒量减少。病毒的起始浓度越高，从采样气溶胶中回收的效率就越高。本研究提供的信息可用于指导现场环境和气溶胶采样方法，提高环境中口蹄疫病毒的检测效率，从而扩展可用于诊断和监测该病原体的工具箱。