Schmallenberg virus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle, sheep and goats in Europe - 2011/2012

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle, sheep and goats in Europe

Unconfirmed report from Norfolk, UK:malformed lambs, possible Schmallenberg virus

Via Twitter these reports on malformed lambs born in Norfolk, UK.

Apparently Schmallenberg virus is suspected.


Diagonose will be confirmed next week.

farmerkit Kit Papworth

We have lost almost 20 lambs to #Schmallenberg virus this week. New problem for us. Working closely with vets.

farmerkit Kit Papworth

Lambs being born with fused joints, esp front legs. Horrid. Suspect that we will not be the only ones. Just that we lamb early.

farmerkit Kit Papworth

Should get confirmation next week.

Edit:

Quote from Defra Assesment:

Meteorological studies: The Met Office has produced a list of days when
incursion of potentially infected midges from the affected areas on the
continent to the UK was possible during the risk period end July- November
2011, using the NAME model developed for bluetongue investigation. There
were 4-8 days per month during this period when conditions were suitable for
transport of midges from the Belgian and Dutch coast, and the counties of
Sussex, Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk may have been at risk during this
period.

Defra

.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle, sheep. goats and pigs in Europe

Edit: today the swine were changed in sheep, as it should be.

Belgium reports 9 locations with Schmallenbergvirus in pigs

20 januari 2012

Via FAO website Belgium reported 9 locations with Schmallenberg virus in pigs. The virus is confirmed on small holdings: between 4 and 60; one has 216 pigs.

The report doesn't have much details. Among other things is says : 2 cases, 2 deaths.for example.

It looks like it is about piglets?

At the moment it is widely accepted the Schmallenbergvirus is an "Akabane-like"-virus. Untill now hardly any infections were found of Akabane-virus in pigs.
Exception is Taiwan. Infections were reported in pigs and piglets in Taiwan, however not health problems. May be the (free ranging) pigs could serve as a reservoir for the virus. The same could be true for horses or deer.

The piglets could have died from another cause.

Let's hope for the best.


An example of a report (click on the link to see the original):

Bron: FAO

Disease Event Detail print

General Info

Disease Event ID 166692

Reporting date 12/01/2012

Observation date 18/12/2011

Location

Region Europe

Admin 1 (Country) Vlaams Gewest (Belgium)

Locality Verrebroek

Lat/Long 51.25 / 4.18

Coords quality Unknown


Diagnosis

Status Confirmed

Disease Schmallenberg

Serotype

Source OIE



Map
0.00000, 0.00000

Species affected

An.Type Domestic

An.Class Mammal

Species Swine

At Risk 60

Cases 2

Deaths 2

Destroyed -

Slaughtered -


Laboratory Tests

Disease Tested Schmallenberg

Species unspecified mammal

Test RRT-PCR (real-time reverse transcriptase PCR)

Result Positive

Result Date 06/01/2012

[Shiloh]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...-animal-virus/

New Animal Virus Takes Northern Europe by Surprise

* By ScienceNow Email Author
* January 13, 2012 |
* 4:28 pm

Wired Science News for Your Neurons
New Animal Virus Takes Northern Europe by Surprise

* By ScienceNow Email Author
* January 13, 2012 |
* 4:28 pm |
* Categories: Animals, Medicine
*

By Kai Kupferschmidt, ScienceNOW

Scientists in northern Europe are scrambling to learn more about a new virus that causes fetal malformations and stillbirths in cattle, sheep, and goats. For now, they don?t have a clue about the virus?s origins or why it?s suddenly causing an outbreak; in order to speed up the process, they want to share the virus and protocols for detecting it with anyone interested in studying the disease or developing diagnostic tools and vaccines.

The virus, provisionally named ?Schmallenberg virus? after the German town from which the first positive samples came, was detected in November in dairy cows that had shown signs of infection with fever and a drastic reduction in milk production. Now it has also been detected in sheep and goats, and it has shown up at dozens of farms in neighboring Netherlands and in Belgium as well. According to the European Commission?s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, cases have been detected on 20 farms in Germany, 52 in the Netherlands, and 14 in Belgium. Many more suspected cases are being investigated. ?A lot of lambs are stillborn or have serious malformations,? Wim van der Poel of the Dutch Central Veterinary Institute in Lelystad says. ?This is a serious threat to animal health in Europe.?

?We are taking this very, very seriously,? adds Thomas Mettenleiter, head of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), the German federal animal health lab located on the island of Riems. The virus appears to be transmitted by midges (Culicoides spp.),...

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Presentations on Schmallenberg-virus from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. They come from the European SCoFCAH meeting which was held yesterday.



"Schmallenberg virus in the Netherlands"

?Schmallenbergvirus? in Germany

Schmallenbergvirus detected in Belgium

.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

EU-document:[/I]

Statement on the Schmallenberg Virus Situation Issued by
the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH)

11 January 2012

The information presented by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium at the meeting of 11
January 2012 shows that a newly detected virus has circulated in the second semester 2011
amongst livestock ruminants causing non-specific clinical signs in cattle and congenital
malformations, mainly in sheep and more seldom in cattle and goats.

The Member States and the Commission acknowledge the efforts made by these three
Member States to provide the best possible scientific information on the risks posed by this
virus, in full transparency.

The virus in question belongs to the Bunyaviridae family, genus Orthobunyavirus and has
been tentatively named "Schmallenberg virus". This virus belongs to a vector-transmitted
group of viruses making direct transmission from animal to animal unlikely. However, vertical
transmission from dam to newborn via the intrauterine route does occur as with other similar
viruses. This group of viruses very often are associated with mild clinical signs of disease or
with subclinical infection in ruminants.

So far, cases of disease have been detected in 20 farms in Germany (in cattle and sheep), in
52 farms in the Netherlands (in sheep, and one case in goat), and in 14 farms in Belgium (in
sheep, only). No clear geographical clusters of these cases has been shown, so far. This may
suggest that the undetected subclinical cases of infection in ruminants may be many more,
but the current lack of serological tests renders epidemiological investigations difficult.

Although the congenital malformation in newborn animals have been detected recently and
are still being detected in these days, they are most likely caused by transmission of virus by
insect vectors that occurred in summer and early autumn, during pregnancy.

There is no evidence that the Schmallenberg virus could cause illness in humans. The Member
States and the Commission took note of the preliminary assessment carried out by the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the zoonotic risks of the
Schmallenberg virus which indicates that "it is unlikely that this virus can cause disease in
humans, but it cannot be completely excluded at this stage1".

The Member States and the Commission recognise that the information on the Schmallenberg
virus is still fragmented and mostly extrapolated from data available on genetically similar
viruses in the Orthobunyaviridae genus (Simbu serogroup, like the Akabane virus). The
situation needs to be reassessed once new data will be available. Awareness should be
improved amongst veterinary services and stakeholders in order to better understand and
address the possible risks associated with this virus.

Given that this virus is likely transmitted by means of insect vectors, further virus circulation
in the current winter is unlikely to occur. This will allow Member States time to gather further
data and to plan further actions in view of a possible reoccurrence of disease in spring and
summer.

The Member States and the Commission consider that it is therefore necessary to continue
field investigations and surveys on this virus that would generate data on which the possible
disease control measures should be based. They therefore agree to develop a guidance
document on surveillance as a matter of urgency.

The Member States also invited the Commission to identify possible ways to provide financial
support to the above investigations.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

10 januari 2012

Schmallenbergvirus confirmed on 14 sheepfarms in Germany


The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut confirmed today the schmallenbergvirus
on 14 sheepfarms in Germany. Earlier the virus was found on 6 cattle farms.

Also the FLI decided to publish the sequence of the virus. This is important for other countries who (may) have problems with the Schmallenbergvirus.

Untill now the virus is confiremed in sheep in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. Also in cattle in Germany.

With the sequence it will be easier to develop a serological test. If the serological test is available, it is expected the schmallenbergvirus will be confirmed on more cattle farms.

[B][SIZE="3"]

Date: Tue 10 Jan 2012

Source: Web-site of the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute (FLI) [in German, trans. Sabine Zentis, summarised, edited]

http://www.fli.bund.de/fileadmin/dam_uploads/tierseuchen/Schmallenberg_Virus/Schmallenberg_Virus-20120110.pdf

So far, 12 positive samples of cattle from 6 different farms in North-Rhine-Westphalia have been confirmed positive for SBV. One case was a twin calf that died 10 days prior to the expected birth date. Virus was detected in the abdominal liquid using the RT-PCR "Schmallenberg test."

In addition, the virus was confirmed in the brains of lambs born with malformations from 14 holdings, 7 located in North-Rhine-Westphalia and the other 7 in Lower Saxony. The malformations are the result of infection of the dam in an early stage of pregnancy during summer/autumn 2011.

The method to detect the virus has meanwhile been distributed to institutions in Belgium, France, The UK, The Netherlands and Italy.


FLI

ProMedmail

Abgabe von Virusisolat, Sequenzinformationen und Nachweismethode

.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

LINK: OIE-report

04/01/2012: Schmallenberg disease, Netherlands, (Immediate notification)

Information received on 05/01/2012 from Dr Christianne Bruschke, Chief Veterinary Officer , Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Hague, Netherlands

Summary

Report type Immediate notification

Start date 19/12/2011

Date of first confirmation of the event 19/12/2011

Report date 04/01/2012

Date submitted to OIE 05/01/2012

Reason for notification Emerging disease

Morbidity 1 scale05

Mortality 1 scale05

Zoonotic impact No

Causal agent Schmallenberg virus

- snip -

Summary of outbreaks Total outbreaks: 39

The disease has been made notifiable.

The data collected relates to the cases of malformations identified in newborn sheep and goats. This notification was done to report an emerging disease which has not caused yet any mortality in adult animals in any farms in the country, while it seems it is causing fœtal malformations following intrauterine infections. A serological test will be developed that will give further insight in the number of cases. The nature of this viral disease will be detailed in the follow-up reports.

OIE

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Schmallenbergvirus found in sheep in Germany and Denmark ?

On a German internetforum of sheep breeders some reports on malformed and dead born lambs in Germany and in Denmark. The reports relate it to the Schmallenbergvirus.

No reports on this in the Danish or German press untill now. We 'll have to wait for further confirmation.

Sabine Zentis from Germany, who is well informed, send me a message via e-mail:

- Untill now no Schmallenbergvirus (SBV) cases confirmed in Denmark, the source on the forum made a translation mistake;

- Germany, veterinarian authorities soon will confirm SBV in sheep.

.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Schmallenbergvirus found in sheep in Germany and Denmark ?

On a German internetforum of sheep breeders some reports on malformed and dead born lambs in Germany and in Denmark. The reports relate it to the Schmallenbergvirus.

No reports on this in the Danish or German press untill now. We 'll have to wait for further confirmation.

hier in DK wurde der virus bei totgeborenen, deformierten læmmer nachgewiesen, wenn ein lamm lebte, und diesen virus in sich trug, starb es nach wenigen tagen

hier wird gesagt, dass der virus durch muecken uebertragen wird

das sind dænische offizielle aussagen und nicht von mir pers.

Die Problematik weitet sich deutlich aus. Die Lammzeit am Niederrhein hat begonnen, und inzwischen bittet das Labor in Krefeld nicht mehr darum, jeden Abort zur Abklärung anzuliefern, sie haben genug...

Erste Einschätzungen liegen bei 10-25% mißgebildete Totgeburten oder nicht lebensfähige Lämmer. Es werden auch Zwillinge geboren, bei denen ein Lamm fit und das andere geschädigt ist. Entscheidend scheint das Trächtigkeitsstadium zu sein, in dem die Infektion stattfand, kritisch sind die ersten 3 Monate.

Es gibt auch, wie bei der Blauzunge, erste Praktikermeinungen, nach denen bereits im letzten Jahr vereinzelt solche Mißbildungen und Aborte aufgetreten sind, wir also möglicherweise bereits im 2. Jahr des Infektionsgeschehens stehen.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Note: according to a well informed source the confirmed "goat farm" in the Netherlands is not a farm: it is a single goat, kept as a hobby.



Date: Tue 3 Jan 2011

Source: Agrarisch Dagblad (AGD) [in Dutch, trans., edited]

http://www.agd.nl/Melk/Nieuws/578857/Schmallenbergvirus-aangetoond-bij-geitenbedrijf.htm?t_anon=none

[subscription required]


1st SBV case in goats
---------------------
A goat farm in Dalfsen, Overijssel, initially suspected, has been
confirmed Schmallenberg-virus [SBV] positive by the new Netherlands
Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (nVWA). It is the 1st goat
farm where the virus has been demonstrated. A 2nd goat farm with
malformed kids is still under investigation.

The number of SBV-confirmed sheep farms has risen to 33. The provinces
of Utrecht and Flevoland are the only ones so far not found affected.
In these provinces, the number of suspected farms was also the lowest,
3 and 1 respectively.

The province of Gelderland has been the affected most, with 26
reported suspicions of which 9 have been SBV confirmed.

The total number of farms which reported malformed offspring has risen
to 126, including 49 cattle, 75 sheep, and 2 goat farms. None of the
23 cattle farms already tested has been found infected. On 10 sheep
farms, the virus was not demonstrated while 33 sheep farms have been
found infected. Investigations are still pending on samples from 32
sheep and 26 cattle farms.

View a map of the affected farms at
http://www.vwa.nl/onderwerpen/dierzi...allenbergvirus.

[The Dutch official requirement for notification of malformations in
ruminants seems to be effective, producing an impressive reporting
harvest (though no denominator is available). Looking at the map and
observing the widespread distribution of (most probably, vectorborne)
cases throughout the country, it is difficult to perceive a lower
incidence in neighbouring German and Belgian territories.

According to the published results of Belgium's investigations as of
30 Dec 2011, out of 20 ruminant animal farms with congenital
malformations, 9 were found positive. This included 8 cattle farms
(all negative), 11 sheep farms (9 positive), and 1 negative goat
farm.

The negative results in cattle farms in the 3 affected countries
(according to Dutch official information, one cattle case has been
confirmed in Germany) is in need of explanation; hopefully, more light
will be shed on SBV during next week's discussions of EU's "Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" (SCOFCAH), to take
place in Brussels on 11 Jan 2012. - Mod.AS]

ProMEDmail

[Shiloh]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Source: http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/sh...27-dutch-farms

Sheep Virus Spreads to 27 Dutch Farms
Published on 30 December 2011 - 9:51pm

The Schmallenberg virus which causes lambs to be born deformed has now been found at 27 Dutch farms, Agriculture Deputy Minister Hans Bleker has told parliament.

At 55 farms probes are still under way and no evidence of the virus has been found at 26 other farms, the deputy minister writes in a letter to parliament...

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Schmallenbergvirus : new Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

From DEFRA - UK

Schmallenberg Virus in Northern Europe: a new orthobunyavirus in cattle

Situation Assessment

Date: 20th December 2011

- snip -

There are still uncertainties around this new virus, such as the vector responsible for
transmission, the geographic distribution, transmissibility of infected animals and the
origin. The virus has not been isolated, and as there is no serology test available at
present, serological surveillance is not possible.

Since the UK was made aware of the situation we have been carrying out scanning
surveillance in cattle. No similar reports of clinical signs in the UK have been made.

The more recent reports of the abortions and congenital deformities are of concern
and heightened awareness in animal keepers is recommended over the coming
months. This is because there is a low risk that inapparently infected cattle and
sheep may have been imported during 2011 from the affected area. Such animals
may have been exposed during early pregnancy with an increased risk of
developmental abnormality. Typical deformities in lambs have included crooked
necks, hydrocephalus and stiff joints. Most were born dead while infected live lambs
did not survive.

It may be too early to see the extent of problems in cattle and even in
sheep, case rates are not known. Therefore animal keepers would need to be aware
of lambs or calves born between now and Summer 2012 and report any abortions
and deformities, which may be submitted for testing, particularly if from imported
cattle or sheep. As infection may have occurred some time ago, it would be difficult
to take disease control measures.


Link to assessment - PDF

[Shiloh]

Re: New Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Source: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive..._four_farm.php

Sheep virus found on four farms, 77 under investigation

Thursday 29 December 2011

A new virus which causes sheep to have deformed lambs has been formally identified on four farms in the Netherlands while a further 77 are under investigation, the food and consumer product safety body VWA said on Wednesday...

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: New Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

Date: Fri 23 Dec 2011

From: Thierry van den Berg thvan@var.fgov.be [edited]


Schmallenberg virus - Belgium: 1st case
---------------------------------------
Since the beginning of the month [December 2011], an increasing number
of abortions and births of deformed lambs have been observed in
Belgium. The affected farms are mainly located in the north of the
country.

Affected lambs have been submitted for postmortem examinations at the
Animal Health Center of DGZ Vlaanderen [Animal Healthcare Flanders].
In some lambs, brain abnormalities were observed, such as
hydranencephaly or hypoplasia. On 22 Dec 2011, samples from 5 lambs
from one farm were tested by the Belgian reference laboratory for
animal diseases (CODA-CERVA); in 3 lambs the Schmallenberg virus was
detected in the thymus by RT-PCR (according to the protocol kindly
provided by FLI [Friedrich Loeffler Institute], Germany).

The affected lambs came from a farm of about 180 ewes located in
Hoogstraten, in the Province of Antwerp, close to the Dutch border.
The 1st epidemiological investigations indicated that 60 ewes gave
birth, among which 20 gave birth to lambs with defects such as
torticollis (crooked neck) and arthrogryposis (deformed joints). Most
deformed lambs were born dead, but some were born alive as indicated
by the presence of milk in their stomach; nevertheless, those were not
viable and did not survive for long.

Additional samples coming from several suspect farms will be analyzed
during the next days.

--
Dr Brigitte Cay
Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre
Belgium

http://www.coda-cerva.be/

Dr Guido Bertels, Dr Hans Vanloo
DGZ Vlaanderen, Belgium

http://www.dgz.be/

Dr Thierry van den Berg
Operational Director Viral Diseases
Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (VAR)
Groeselenberg 99
B-1180 Brussels, Belgium
thvan@var.fgov.be

[The firsthand, authoritative information above on the 1st discovery
of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in newborn, congenitally-affected ovines,
is gratefully acknowledged. These affected lambs are the belated
clinicopathological expression of an infection which had taken place,
most probably, about 3-4 months ago, namely in August/September 2011.

The chronology of the events in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium is
remarkable. The same 3 countries were the first to be infected (and
report; see ProMED-mail 20060821.2353), in August 2006, by the BTV-8
virus, heralding its introduction to Europe. The fact that both BTV-8
and SBV started their activity in August may reflect the presence of a
similar vector in all 3 counties. But why on earth (literally) did it
start, in both events, not only during the very same season, but also
within an almost identical geographical realm?! Food for thought --
and for intensified epidemiological studies. - Mod.AS]

ProMEDmail

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: New Akabane-like virus in cattle and sheep in Europe

First case of Schmallenbergvirus confirmed in Belgium

BELGIE: Persbericht van het CODA en het FAVV.

23 DECEMBER 2011

Eerste vaststelling van het schmallenbergvirus in ons land

Het Belgische referentielaboratorium voor dierziekten CODA (Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie) heeft op donderdag 22 december 2011 voor het eerst het schmallenbergvirus aangetoond in ons land.

Het virus werd ontdekt bij pasgeboren lammeren, afkomstig van een bedrijf uit de provincie Antwerpen. Deze lammeren vertoonden misvormingen aan de ledematen en aan de hersenen. De dieren waren voor een autopsie aangeboden bij het opsporingscentrum van DGZ Vlaanderen.

Verschillende andere lammeren van het veebedrijf vertoonden gelijkaardige, zichtbare letsels bij de geboorte en sommige dieren werden dood geboren.

Behalve dit bedrijf worden op dit ogenblik nog een aantal andere verdachte bedrijven opgevolgd, waar eveneens doodgeboren en misvormde pasgeboren lammeren werden opgemerkt. Het CODA zal eerstdaags ook van deze bedrijven stalen onderzoeken.