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Lorrainelovesplants
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 6521 Location: Dordogne
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Melli-Jane
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BadgerFace
Joined: 25 Mar 2009 Posts: 915 Location: Sussex
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oaklandspigs
Joined: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 113 Location: East Sussex
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Bebo
Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 12590 Location: East Sussex
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NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4587 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 12 10:34 am Post subject: |
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21 February 2012 – Schmallenberg virus: further update on GB testing results
DEFRA/AHVLA
"Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has now been identified in samples submitted from 58 farms across the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Cornwall and Wiltshire.
Due to the increase in reports of SBV identified in France, the areas at comparatively higher risk in the UK have been revised in line with the plume modeling data from the summer which models areas at risk of midge incursion from northern Europe.
These areas include Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and therefore an increase in risk for South Wales. The timing of the most dense plumes would have been in late October for this south west region.
This is therefore in line with the appearance of deformities in lambs being born now, assuming the highest risk period for lambs is if the mother is infected at approximately one month into gestation. The majority of the GB cases of SBV infection have been diagnosed in sheep to date.
Figures correct as of 21 February 2012
See totals at DEFRA/AHVLA
Flutrackers has a useful map showing infection areas of Europe. |
From https://warmwell.com/schmallenbergall.html |
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Melli-Jane
Joined: 09 Mar 2011 Posts: 272 Location: East Sussex
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oaklandspigs
Joined: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 113 Location: East Sussex
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BadgerFace
Joined: 25 Mar 2009 Posts: 915 Location: Sussex
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 45472 Location: yes
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oaklandspigs
Joined: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 113 Location: East Sussex
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 12 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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Key points from the meeting I went to run by Westpoint Vets with ADAS and the NFU
In the audience of 100 or so, of the 6 farmers that had started lambing 5 had deformed lambs. Rate was 5-15%.
There is a large amount of re-absorbsion from data from those that scanned – singles coming up empty, and twins only having singles – anything up to 10%
Lambs born can be stillborn, can be deformed with locked joints making it very hard for the sheep to lamb – one person said she was regularly breaking lamb legs inside the sheep to get out dead deformed lambs so as to save the sheep.
There are also what are called “silly lambs” – born live but with little brain development, so die quite quickly.
Any like the above can be sent free to AHVLA for SBV analysis (they only test for that, they won’t tell you about anything else unless you pay), and are likely to only do the first positive one, then they are not asking for more. As cases build this may stop altogether.
All you can do for this year’s lamb crop is cope.
As for future, all the following needs a big caveat – this is an early disease, with little history, however bluetongue spread (also by midges) gives us good data from past, and some of Europe is months ahead of us in lamb cycles so have been through it. There is also excellent cross European co-operation and information sharing.
However the following is best guestimates from informed sources. So likely to be true, but not guaranteed!
For sheep, once infected they show no signs of illness, but have it for a couple of weeks. They then have developed strong immunity to it (potentially life long!). So once a sheep has had it, it should be ok.
For cattle, they show lots of symptoms that are common with other diseases, but last a couple of weeks, but similarly they then have developed strong immunity to it, and should the be ok. Some farms are seeing a month where their cattle herd show signs of being off colour as the disease works it way through the herd.
The issue is IF they get infected or have the virus during the first trimester of pregnancy. Before mating or after the first trimester and the offspring is not affected. (don’t know whether the young inherit the immunity, but if meat doesn’t matter, and for future breeding as long as they get it before mating, then they’ll be ok. So fro instance sheep that mated in October last year when midges were active are at high risk in the south.
Midges are the likely source of infection, and this is borne out by Defra’s modelling of midge vs. Wind and temperature that shows most danger area is where we are seeing the virus. Midges are active only at certain temperatures, and the likely period when they can affect is march to October, although that doesn’t mean you can relax on November the 1st!! Areas for this year are the south and east coasts where they were blown accross from Europe.
Parasite control of the flock/herd may reduce spread, but standard fly protection products (eg clic) don’t do midges, you need something like spot-on. However you are too late to help this year and see below may positively want to welcome it now, so consider this before using spot-on. If you use spot-on on a sheep, then it will kill the midge that bites it, but not before it has infected that sheep, and probably not before it has then infected several others of your flock – the poison takes up to a hour or so to work, so at best you might reduce, but would not protect.
A vaccine is 1-2 years away, and probably won’t be needed as by the time it gets here, all sheep and cattle should have got it (and got over it).
If you are in the south then your strategy is that for this seasons lambing, you will have what you have got now, so cannot do anything about it. If it proves that once infected you get a long period of immunity, and for sheep there are no side effects, then maybe you should hope that all your sheep get infected during this summer, and then they’ll have protection and next year you’ll be ok, as protected sheep don’t produce deformed/stillborn/silly lambs.
For cattle in the south, the same strategy might apply, hope that they get it, that you don't get too bad symptoms (eg milk reduction) which only lasts for two weeks in any case, and they get immunity for next year.
Those in the south will also need to consider whether they should buy in stock from the north, that will be naive to the disease (not have had it), and whether to do this earlier so that they might/should get the disease before going to ram/bull or AI.
For those outside the immediate area infected this year, it will depend on how quickly midges spread up north from infected south. If slowly, then you might get several years of uncertainty (there is no live test at the moment to see if stock has had it) as to whether your particular area has got it/your farm has got it. I did ask about deliberately infecting stock so that they get it and get over it – and this might be a possibility if vaccine doesn’t get here soon.
So that’s what I learnt. In a way you should hope that all the UK gets it this summer, and then with a long immunity the worry will disappear, although we might be vaccinating future breeding stock in their first lambing/calving season to give their young protection. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 45472 Location: yes
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Mithril
Joined: 22 Jul 2011 Posts: 1755 Location: wessex
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Melli-Jane
Joined: 09 Mar 2011 Posts: 272 Location: East Sussex
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BadgerFace
Joined: 25 Mar 2009 Posts: 915 Location: Sussex
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