Update on SBV in cattle
Evidence of acute Schmallenberg virus (SBV) disease has been found in adult dairy cattle in 19 premises across England, it has been revealed.
Enhanced surveillance, recently introduced by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has detected cases of SBV across 14 counties in England.
Cattle affected by acute SBV may develop signs such as a transient drop in milk yield, fever and diarrhoea; others may be infected without showing any clinical signs. The disease is not fatal and symptoms are short-lived, but farmers and vets should be aware that these signs may be caused by other agents of disease as well as SBV.
Farmers are advised to contact their veterinarian if they suspect an SBV inception, and vets should contact their AHVLA/SAC laboratory if they suspect the virus is present. Further information on SBV is available here, and advice on investigating suspected incidents can be downloaded here.
The counties currently with acute cases in cattle are as follows:
- Berkshire
- Cheshire
- Cornwall
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- Dorset
- Leicestershire and Rutland
- North Yorkshire
- Oxfordshire
- Somerset (excl North)
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- West Yorkshire
- Worcestershire
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.
