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Results of an epidemiological survey intended to veterinarians aiming to assess the clinical, zootechnic and economic impacts of the emergence of Schmallenberg virus in Wallonia (situation in May, 2012).

Abstract:

Recently a new virus, belonging to the Bunyaviridae family and the Orthobunyavirus genus, appeared in Europe. It has been temporarily called Schmallenberg virus (SBV), from the German location of its first identification. The disease caused by SBV is not contagious, and is transmitted by vectors, probably midges of the Culicoides genus. In adult bovine, the disease is characterized by a drastic reduction of milk production, hyperthermia, diarrhea and sometimes abortion. Congenital lesions like arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly are described in lambs, goat kids and calves. The zoonotic risk is negligible. First suspicious cases were detected as soon as July 2011. The mean cost for individual treatment was 67 or 107 euros, in case of fatal outcome or apparent recovery respectively. At present, SBV is not a reportable disease in Belgium and probably cases are under declared. Furthermore, a lack of detection is due to the delay existing between the infection of the mother and the progeny and the short duration of the viraemia. The evaluation of the extent of the SBV episode and the consequent economical and zootechnicallosses, implies important research efforts. As these results are preliminary, they would warrant an implementation in a larger scale and more detailed analysis, including answers of additional practitioners.