Anew disease has appeared this year in domestic ruminants in the southern parts of the UK causing foetal malformation and other symptoms. It is caused by a virus which is responsible for similar disease elsewhere in the world (Africa, Asia, Australiaand the United States), though it has not previously been identified in Europe. We don't know when it developed, or how it got into Europe, so while it has been named Schmallenberg virus (SBV) after the small German town where the first cases were identified, it is unlikely this is where the virus originated. Its effects were first noticed in northern continental Europe during the second half of 2011, where infection appears to have been widespread, and the actual virus type was identified by German researchers late last year. Experts believe SBV is transmitted primarily by midges and mosquitoes, with animal-to-animal transmission unlikely. Indeed SBV had been found in midges circulating in Belgium last summer and outbreak assessments conducted by AHVLA indicate infection arrived on our shores after that, when infected midges from continental Europe blew into the UK and began transmitting infection to our livestock population.
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