Euro experts report on spread of new virus

THE European Food Safety Authority has published an assessment of the impact of infection by the so-called ‘Schmallenberg’ virus (SBV).

Following its first detection in Germany in 2011, the situation in the EU, by mid-May 2012, was that SBV had been confirmed in 3,745 holdings in eight member states. No country had more than four per cent of its sheep holdings or two per cent of its cattle farms affected.

Those percentages would mean huge numbers in the UK but the UK figures amounted to only 0.28 per cent of sheep holdings and 0.04 per cent of cattle holdings affected. The worst affected country was Belgium, close to the suspected source in northern Europe.

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EFSA says there is still no evidence of any other route of transmission other than from mother to offspring through the placenta or via biting midges – especially the group known as Culicoides obsoletus.

The authority says the virus has been detected in cattle, sheep, goats and a bison. SBV antibodies have been detected in deer but no other species are known to be affected.

EFSA says all studies so far support the initial assessment that it is very unlikely that SBV poses a risk to humans.

It says it is difficult to assess the chances of SBV surviving over the winter and subsequently spreading in 2012 and manifesting itself again in late 2012/early 2013.

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But if it does, any outbreaks of SBV are likely to be of a similar size to those already seen in affected regions. More regions would probably be affected but they would most likely be to the south and east of those already suffering. The report cautions, however, that the picture it paints might be incomplete, because the virus might be going un-reported or undiagnosed in some states .

For the full report, see http://tinyurl.com/dy8cbu3

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