European farmers warned of virus affecting sheep, cattle and goats

Farmers have been warned to be on the look-out for a new virus affecting mainly sheep, but also cattle and goats across Europe.

While the virus is unlikely to affect humans, anybody in close contact with infected animals should also be careful in case the virus evolves, the European Food Safety Authority says.

Known as the Smallenberg virus after the German town where it was first identified, it causes sheep to abort or to give birth to deformed young, while cattle can suffer fever, diarrhoea, loss of appetite and low milk yield for up to a week.