After figures released last week by AHVLA showed Schmallenberg disease has been detected in almost every county in England and Wales, farmers have expressed fears for their herds as lambing begins.  

On Tuesday, Defra's chief veterinary officer Dr Nigel Gibbons said that the disease had been detected in "all the major livestock-producing areas" in England and Wales; to date there have been no acute cases detected in Scotland. Dr Gibbons said the "majority" of farms in England and Wales are expected to be infected.

The majority of cases reported come from blood tests conducted this year, although it will only be possible to measure the full cost and extent of the disease once lambing and calving is completed.  There have been 976 cases of the disease detected on farms in England and Wales, almost a three-fold increase in cases since surveillance was stepped up in the summer.

However, it is thought that the actual effect on herds this year will be relatively small, with only around five percent of infected herds expected to experience losses.

Once animals contract the disease they appear to develop immunity, which has led animal health experts to express hope that Schmallenberg will not be a persistent problem and that previously heavily affected areas in the South East will suffer less from the disease this year, especially as a vaccine against SBV will not be available until next year at the earliest.

Although the virus, first detected in Germany in Autumn 2011, can lead to stillbirth and foetal abnormalities, it is thought that these effects only occur if animals are infected during early pregnancy. SBV affects sheep and cattle in particular, but has also been reported to affect deer, goats and other grazing animals.