The number of confirmed cases of Schmallenberg virus in the UK has risen to 239. Of these, 25 are in cattle and 214 are in sheep, according to government statistics published on Good Friday by the AHVLA.

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However, there has been conjecture over whether all cases of the new virus are being reported. Some industry voices have suggested farmers discovering possible evidence of SBV infection have not contacted their vets over fears of stigmatisation; although the disease is not currently notifiable in the UK, all farmers experiencing abnormalities during calving and lambing are being advised to contact their vet to help build an accurate picture of infection.

The virus, which is spread by biting insects and can cause spontaneous abortions, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities in sheep, cattle, goats and possibly camelids and cervidae (deer), has so far been detected in eight EU member states, though there are fears of infections elsewhere following the discovery of the virus in midges in Denmark last month.

As calving continues and lambing of ‘at risk’ sheep (those infected during the critical period when SBV can cause damage to the foetus) comes to an end, more cases of SBV are expected to come to light in cattle; infections in cattle populations are increasing relative to cases in sheep in infected countries. All infections are still thought to have occurred at the same time, but cattle have a longer gestation period than sheep.

In a statement, AHVLA scientists said, “[In] EU Member States sheep reports have declined as lambing in ‘at risk’ sheep draws to an end… We continue to expect to see cases in cattle into early summer.”

Throughout Europe, there have been 3,188 reported cases of the virus, which was only discovered and named late last year. Of these 1,151 are in Germany, where the disease is believed to have originated and where it has recently been made notifiable, 1,176 are in France, 364 are in Belgium, 244 are in the Netherlands and 12 are in Luxembourg. Italy and Spain have each reported one case of SBV.

Threat to humans unlikely according to German tests

According to the results of tests conducted in February at Germany’s Robert Koch Institut, which were published last week, humans who come into contact with the Schmallenberg Virus are unlikely to contract it.

Blood tests on 60 farmers whose flocks had been infected with SBV all showed the farmers had not developed antibodies to the virus. This suggests the farmers had not been infected, leading the experimenters to conclude there is an “extremely low” risk to humans from SBV. PCR tests on farmers displaying “non-specific symptoms” such as a fever or headache also came back negative.

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