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Posted on 02/26/2012 11:43:52 AM PST by null and void
The Schmallenberg virus causes lambs to be born dead or with serious deformities such as fused limbs and twisted necks, which mean they cannot survive.
74 farms across southern and eastern England have been hit by the virus, which arrived in this country in January.
A thousand farms in Europe have reported cases since the first signs of the virus were seen in the German town of Schmallenberg last summer.
Infected ewes do not show any symptoms of the virus until they give birth, with horrific results. Farmers have described delivering the deformed and stillborn animals as heartbreaking.
There are also fears that the virus may be seen later this year among cows, which have a longer gestation period.
Cows are thought to be more robust than sheep, but Schmallenberg virus could still reduce milk yields and put pressure on a dairy industry that is already suffering
This time there is no vaccine, and Defra says a ban on imports would not work, because the disease “is already here”. ”
“The escalation and range of cases is deeply concerning and some experts are now suggesting that the volume of cases being seen is an indication that this is, in fact, the second year of infection.
“If that is the case then it raises the worrying prospect that the virus may have an effective overwintering mechanism.”
The AHVLA identifies Schmallenberg as one of a group of viruses “typically primarily spread by biting insect vectors, such as midges and mosquitoes, although the routes of Schmallenberg virus transmission have not yet been confirmed. The potential for direct transmission (ie direct from one animal to another) is therefore, as yet, unknown.”
It said: “There is unlikely to be a risk to human health from Schmallenberg virus; but this is not yet certain.”
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It would be a horrific human disease
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Veterinary ping.
Veterinary ping.
When I visited Ireland some years ago, I met a dairy farmer and noticed that all his cows had number tags. He said that he had been compelled to put his prior herd to death due to mad cow disease, and was no longer giving the cows affectionate names like Bossy or Daisy, to lessen the pain of losing them if it happened again.
Not a vet but I have a degree in Animal Science and been in the busiess 30 years.
My guess would be some new strain of parvovirus.
Not if it affected liberals onlyt....
UK: Imported animals NOT the source of Schmallenberg-virus
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=444181#post444181
#Schmallenberg
This is an arbovirus carried by Midges and mosquitoes much like Lacrosse Virus. The virus in the Bunyamera classification orthobunyamera virus. There are a bunch of nasty viruses in this family. This is a ss RNA virus whereas parvo is a ssDNA virus.
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