It was a little over a year ago that a new disease of sheep and cattle caused by the Schmallenberg virus (SBV) hit the headlines. As its name suggests the disease is caused by a virus which is spread by midges which bite the livestock and pass on the virus.
The main impact is that it causes stillbirths and birth defects in calves and lambs which can obviously have a significant economic impact on farmers. The disease first raised its head in the autumn of 2011 when farmers reported stillbirths in sheep in East Anglia. It is thought that the ewes had become infected by midges which must have been blown across from the continent where the disease was already well established.
Up until recently however I have heard of few instances in this area but in the last few weeks everything has changed and farmers locally are reporting lambs being born with leg deformities in significant numbers and also some calves being lost.
Paddy Gordon from Shepton Vet Group said, "We have recently had a number of non-viable lambs presented with fused joints and we have now had positive results for Scmallenberg in both lambs and in our dairy herds. Our view is that it is likely there has been infection across the county but the effect on livestock will be variable depending on the stage of pregnancy. We are hearing reports of normal lambing and of flocks with a high proportion of lambs affected." Thus it seems the effect is sporadic rather than widespread, but if you are one of the farmers affected it can be a real problem.
This obviously demonstrates that during this summer infected midges must have been active in this area and one assumes the disease is now here to stay. However on a brighter note I understand that animals that have been infected can develop immunity which should help reduce the impact of the disease in subsequent years. One would also assume that if youngstock can gain immunity before they reach breeding age then this would again help reduce the impact of the disease going forward.
There may also be the possibility of developing a vaccine, as I believe vaccines exist for similar diseases but that still does not help those with livestock which have not yet developed immunity either naturally or via vaccination. In these herds and flocks it looks as though losses of calves and lambs could be a problem at least in the short term and it is certainly a worry to a growing number of farmers in this area. Unfortunately there is little that can be done at this stage, as infection will have been spread by biting midges during the summer. Finally I think it is worth mentioning that there is no known risk to humans.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
Up until recently however I have heard of few instances in this area but in the last few weeks everything has changed and farmers locally are reporting lambs being born with leg deformities in significant numbers and also some calves being lost.
Paddy Gordon from Shepton Vet Group said, "We have recently had a number of non-viable lambs presented with fused joints and we have now had positive results for Scmallenberg in both lambs and in our dairy herds. Our view is that it is likely there has been infection across the county but the effect on livestock will be variable depending on the stage of pregnancy. We are hearing reports of normal lambing and of flocks with a high proportion of lambs affected." Thus it seems the effect is sporadic rather than widespread, but if you are one of the farmers affected it can be a real problem.
This obviously demonstrates that during this summer infected midges must have been active in this area and one assumes the disease is now here to stay. However on a brighter note I understand that animals that have been infected can develop immunity which should help reduce the impact of the disease in subsequent years. One would also assume that if youngstock can gain immunity before they reach breeding age then this would again help reduce the impact of the disease going forward.
There may also be the possibility of developing a vaccine, as I believe vaccines exist for similar diseases but that still does not help those with livestock which have not yet developed immunity either naturally or via vaccination. In these herds and flocks it looks as though losses of calves and lambs could be a problem at least in the short term and it is certainly a worry to a growing number of farmers in this area. Unfortunately there is little that can be done at this stage, as infection will have been spread by biting midges during the summer. Finally I think it is worth mentioning that there is no known risk to humans.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
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