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Farmers on alert over livestock disease
Farmers are growing increasingly concerned by the spread of a damaging virus which has been identified in farm animals across the south of the country.
Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) has now been identified on 58 farms across southern England and farmers as far north as Scotland have been put on alert.
The virus, which effects sheep, cattle and goats, has been found in Wiltshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Hampshire and, for the first time last week, Cornwall.
Schmallenberg has so far not been identified in Yorkshire or any- where else in northern England.
The virus causes serious birth defects in newborn animals and is said to have arrived in the country from northern Europe. Scientists believe the virus is not harmful to humans.
A statement from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency said: “Due to the increase in reports of SBV identified in France, the areas at comparatively higher risk in the UK have been revised in line with the plume modelling data from the summer which models areas at risk of midge incursion from northern Europe.
“The timing of the most dense plumes would have been in late October for this south west region. This is therefore in line with the appearance of deformities in lambs being born now, assuming the highest risk period for lambs is if the mother is infected at approximately one month into gestation.”
The majority of the English cases of SBV infection have been diagnosed in sheep to date, but three cases were identified in cattle earlier in the year. In Scotland, farming leaders have asked farmers to be on their guard about importing animals from at-risk areas.
Joanne Pugh, executive director of the National Beef Association, said: “We are still very much in the dark about its spread and how it got here from Europe. Farmers in Yorkshire have no reason to worry as yet but the whole country needs to alert to the fact that this virus is here in the country.”
Farmers will be hoping to avoid large-scale movement restrictions on cattle which were seen after Bluetongue was identified in UK herds.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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