The German Parliament last week voted to make Schmallenberg disease notifiable. Germany, thought to be ground zero of the disease, which has affects livestock and was only discovered late last year, has been the worst hit country, with 1,117 confirmed cases in sheep, goats and cattle, according to the Friedrich Loeffler Institut.

The AHVLA announced on Friday that 235 farms have been affected by the virus in England. Twenty five of the positive cases are in cattle and 210 in sheep. Elsewhere, goats have been affected by the virus, which researchers have speculated may also have the potential to affect camelids and deer.

Currently SBV, which can cause spontaneous abortion, congenital abnormalities and stillbirth if pregnant animals are infected, has only been identified in areas which fit into models for midge movements from mainland Europe in Autumn 2011, though AHVLA scientists believe that the domestic midge population may have increased the spread as some affected counties are in zones previously thought to be at ‘low risk’ of infection.

Some AHVLA scientists have also speculated that, as SBV spread more rapidly and densely than bluetongue and other viruses of its order, which are also spread by biting insects, there may be another as-yet undiscovered vector for spreading the disease, such as contact or aerosol contagion.

SBV is not currently notifiable in the UK, though officials have urged farmers to report all abnormalities to their vets to provide for a more accurate picture of infection. There are still fears that some farmers are not reporting SBV cases to avoid stigmatisation.  

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