3 December 2012

2 minute read

Europe

This table includes additional serology results provided by laboratories at Liverpool University and Scotland's Rural College. Results from Scotland have not been listed by county as they all relate to animals introduced into Scotland from English counties where Schmallenberg Virus has been reported.

The focus of the disease is still mainly in the south of England with Cornwall, Devon, Droset, East Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight having the greatest number of cases recorded. The diease has now been reported in countries further north with Cheshire, Staffordshire and North Yorkshire having being amongst the worst affected of the northern counties.

• The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, working across Great Britain on behalf of Defra, Scottish Government and Welsh Government.
• Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a vector* borne virus identified in 2011 that affects sheep, cattle and goats and is widely distributed in Northern and Western Europe and the United Kingdom. Its acute form can cause mild to moderate fever, reduced milk yield, loss of appetite, loss of body condition and sometimes diarrhoea in adult cattle.
  
  It can also lead to abnormalities in newborn animals, such as twisted necks or limbs in still and live births, mainly in sheep but also in cattle and goats and has been linked to late abortions.
  
  [*vectors are organisms – in this case biting insects, such as midges and mosquitoes - that transmit infections from one host to another]
• Farmers are advised to contact their veterinary practitioner if they encounter the following symptoms, and SBV infection is suspected: cases of ruminant new borns or foetuses which are stillborn, show malformations or are showing nervous disease, signs such as a transient drop in milk yield, fever and diarrhoea in adult dairy cattle.
• Veteri/nary practitioners should contact their AHVLA / SRUC laboratory if they suspect infection with the virus. Details of premises with suspected or confirmed disease are treated as confidential and will not be made publicly known. Laboratories will require a full history to provide the necessary clinical and epidemiological information.
• Further information on SBV is available at: http://vla.defra.gov.uk/science/sci_schmallenberg.htm

TheCattleSite News Desk