Headlines - A newly emerging virus: Schmallenberg

A new virus from the Orthobunyavirus family has been identified in Europe since November 2011 in connection with an epizootic disease among ruminants (primarily sheep and goats, but also cattle). The first countries affected were Germany, where the virus was first identified in the town of Schmallenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and more recently France, Italy, and Spain.

This is a livestock disease that can manifest as fever, a drop in milk production, birth defects, and stillbirths, particularly in sheep. This type of virus is primarily transmitted by insect vectors, but the transmission mechanism of the Schmallenberg virus has not yet been confirmed. As of March 30, 2012, in France, 1,048 farms were affected across 46 departments (including all departments in Burgundy and the Haute-Saône department in Franche-Comté).

In terms of implications for human health, preliminary risk assessments conducted by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have ruled out transmission of the infection to humans. To date, individuals considered at risk—those in regular and close contact with infected animals (farmers, farm workers, and veterinarians)—have not reported any related illness. Within EU member states, human and animal health authorities are working together to monitor for any significant changes in the epidemiology of this disease, particularly among at-risk individuals. As a general precaution, as with any epizootic disease, it is recommended that pregnant women be excluded from all calving work and care of newborn animals. [...]