Livestock farmers urged to be vigilant for new virus
So far, 86 farms have been hit in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands by the Schmallenberg virus — named after an area in Germany where it first infected cattle in November.
It is likely that infections occurred in the summer and autumn of last year, resulting in the first cases appearing before Christmas of lambs with congenital malformations such as hydrancephaly and scoliosis, mostly stillborn.
Experts predict more cases to appear, especially in cattle, where calves are expected in February and March. The virus is spread by flies and midges. Wim van der Poel of the Dutch Central Veterinary Institute in Lelystad said, “This is a serious threat to animal health in Europe.”
“We are taking this very, very seriously,” said Thomas Mettenleiter, head of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute German national research centre for animal health.
Carl Padgett, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: “Farmers and vets should be extra vigilant where ruminants have been imported from the affected areas. The symptoms described in adults are quite generic but this disease seems to affect a few animals, not just one.”
Further virus circulation by insects is unlikely during the winter. EU member states and the Commission will continue to field surveys and investigations on which possible disease control measures should be based, in view of a possible reoccurrence in spring and summer.
nEuropean livestock trading has been disrupted since 2006, when another viral disease of ruminants, bluetongue, was spread by insects to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
