The next two weeks, the busiest lambing period in the year for farmers in the UK, are expected to reveal the extent of the spread of Schmallenberg Virus in Britain. Although scientists recently extended the ‘at risk’ zone to include counties in the South West, the AHVLA has said that midges infected with the newly discovered virus could have spread as far as South Wales by October 2011.

Gloucestershire, image expired

Schmallenberg has crept from the South-East coast, where the first cases were reported, to Cornwall and up into East Anglia over the course of the year, although veterinary scientists have said that all infections would have been most likely to have occurred last year. European institutions and governments are collaborating to build a picture of SBV and work out a coordinated approach to dealing with the disease.

The AHVLA said this week that increases in the number of infections confirmed in France had led it to add to the list of ‘as risk’ counties to include Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The disease, which was discovered last year in Germany and has since been reported across Northern Europe, causes stillbirths and congenital abnormalities in ruminants if animals are infected during pregnancy. Though the disease causes a number of symptoms in cattle, it is more difficult to spot in sheep, which appear to be more commonly affected.

David Willison, of Cinderbarrow farm in Cumbria, told the BBC of his concerns, “It’s very difficult to do a lot whilst everyone is still learning; you just have to do what you can and keep your eye out and keep vigilant.”

He went on to say that Schmallenberg, which is believed to be related to bluetongue virus and spread in the same way, by biting insects, may spread further than has previously been anticipated. Mr Willison said, “We found out from Bluetongue that these midges migrate more than we ever thought they did, so we could be into a scenario where they go all over.”

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