Farmers on red alert as Schmallenberg livestock virus hits West Berkshire

AN untreatable livestock disease which causes birth defects and miscarriages in cattle and sheep has been reported on a farm in West Berkshire.

The Schmallenberg virus (SBV), first identified in Holland and Germany last year, is spreading rapidly across the south of England with 74 farms currently having reported positive cases, an increase of 20 farms in one week.

According to the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) five of the positive cases have been diagnosed in cattle, 69 in sheep, and none to date in other species.

This disease, which is spread by midges, ticks and mosquitoes, is not thought to be harmful to humans.

As well as in West Berkshire, positive cases of SBV virus have now been identified on the Isle of Wight and in Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire.

This is in addition to the counties in the east and south of England which have previously had cases identified, namely Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East and West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Cornwall.

Farmers have been advised to contact their nearest vet if they encounter cases.

Clinical signs in newborn animals and foetuses include malformations such as bent limbs and fixed joints, brain deformities and marked damage to the spinal cord.

Some animals are born with a normal outer appearance but have nervous signs such as a ‘dummy’ presentation or blindness, ataxia, recumbency, an inability to suck and sometimes fits.

The foetal deformities vary depending on when infection occurred during pregnancy.

NFU animal health and welfare adviser Catherine McLaughlin has warned farmers to be extra vigilant and take all sensible precautions to prevent infection.

"If farmers are considering importing ruminants from the affected parts of continental Europe, the NFU would strongly recommend that they discuss their plans with their vet first to reduce the risk of buying in the virus," she said.

“Although this is still a relatively new virus, it is a developing situation and difficult to predict the scale of the problems. We are continuing to work closely with colleagues at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the UK and EU scientific communities to learn as much as quickly as possible.”

For more on this story see this week’s Newbury Weekly News.