SBV ‘knowledge gaps’
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has claimed there are ‘knowledge gaps’ surrounding the outbreak of the Schmallenburg virus in Europe. The EFSA has stated in a report the need for a full understanding of the disease, including its geographical spread, its origin and its impact in the herd.
The report published by the EFSA - Schmallenberg virus: Analysis of the Epidemiological Data and Assessment of Impact – was produced following the commission’s request for scientific advice on SBV.
The EFSA has recommended that to improve the possibility of future outbreaks certain data gaps need to be filled. These include SBV vector competency and other vector host transmission parameters, the distribution, density and overwintering of Culicoides, SBV host vector transmission parameters and other routes of transmission.
They also believe that host susceptibility, species range and virulence – as well as the vulnerable period during gestation – all require further investigation, as does the development and duration of post-infection immunity.
The spokesman for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), Adam Bealby said: “[These] knowledge gaps have been discussed and agreed at an EU level, and there is an initiative to address these through multi-disciplinary research.”
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.
