Possible SBV countermeasure in testing
Researchers from the Integrated Management of forest Pests Addressing Climate Trends (IMPACT) project based in Swansea and Aberystwyth are currently investigating the use of a fungus to control the population of midges that spread the Schmallenberg Virus (SBV). The project is being co-funded by Forestry Commission Wales, COFORD and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
It was already known to researchers that the Metarhizium anisopliae fungus was lethal to the Culicoides nubeculosus midge larvae, but experiments in Swansea have demonstrated that the V275 strain of the fungus is also capable of killing the adult midge. Some applications were able to achieve a 100% success rate within a period of five days.
Commenting, Professor Tariq Butt of Swansea University explained that “Current control measures rely on synthetic pesticides, which pose a risk to humans and the environment, whereas natural alternatives do not. With climate change projecting warmer, wetter weather leading to larger midge populations, these could prove a very useful alternative in reducing their numbers.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
