Second Schmallenberg virus case reported in West Berkshire

The untreatable livestock disease which causes birth defects and miscarriages in cattle and sheep was first reported on a farm in West Berkshire three weeks ago.
The virus first identified in Holland and Germany last year, has now spread to 190 farms.
According to the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)14 of the positive cases have been diagnosed in cattle, 176 in sheep, and none to date in other species such as goats, camelids or deer.
Both cases in West Berskshire were sheep, a worry for farmers as the peak of lambing season arrives.
This disease, which is spread by midges, ticks and mosquitoes, is not thought to be harmful to humans.
As well as in West Berkshire, 10 positive cases of SBV virus have now been identified in neighbouring county Hampshire, and five in Wiltshire.
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, 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.
National Farmers Union animal health and welfare adviser Catherine McLaughlin has warned farmers to be extra vigilant and take all sensible precautions to prevent infection.
All suspected cases are to be reported to Defra.