Schmallenberg virus, a disease discovered last year which affects ruminants and can lead to stillbirths, foetal abortions and deformities in sheep, goats and cows, has been discovered in three counties in the East of England.

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The AHVLA today announced that it had analysed samples from animals showing symptoms consistent with Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) last week; the samples, from an area of England identified by the AHVLA as being at risk due to midge movements, tested positive for the disease.

The farms where the infection has been identified have already started lambing; reports from infected regions, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, show that lambs affected with the virus in utero are severely affected.

Although the Schmallenberg Virus has been linked with a groups of viruses that are spread by insect vectors, its precise vector which allows it to spread has not yet been ascertained. Clinical signs of the disease in livestock include fever, reduced milk yield, inappetence, loss of condition and, in some cases, diarrhoea. Herds generally experience outbreaks of the disease over two to three week periods, with individual animals affected for a number of days at a time.

The Friedrich Loeffler Institute has pledged to make all information on the virus available to all member states, as the extent of the virus’ spread in Europe remains unknown. Producers have been advised to report any newborn animals with limb or brain defects to the AHVLA or the Scottish Agricultural College.  

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which carried out a risk assessment in the Netherlands, there is not currently believed to be a risk to humans from SBV, though farmers and veterinary surgeons have been advised to take sensible hygiene precautions when working with livestock.

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