Schmallenberg virus (SBV), a new animal disease that causes birth defects and miscarriages in livestock, has now been identified on 83 farms in England.
Updated test results released by Defra revealed that five of the positive cases have been diagnosed in cattle and 78 in sheep. No other species have been found to carry the disease to date.
Positive cases of SBV virus have now been identified on the Isle of Wight and in Wiltshire, West Berkshire and South Gloucestershire. This is in addition to the counties in the east and south of England which have previously had cases identified.
The Schmallenberg virus first emerged in the Netherlands and Germany last year, causing mild to moderate symptoms in adult cattle, including reduced milk yield and diarrhoea, and late miscarriages and birth deformities in newborn sheep, goats and cattle.
So far, none of the affected farms have reported importing animals during 2011 from the affected areas in mainland Europe.
It is thought the virus is spread by midges and crossed the English Channel from the continent.
Cases in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East and West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Cornwall have previously been identified by Defra.
Dr Alick Simmons, the government’s deputy chief veterinary officer, said Defra is keen to understand how the virus is spreading and has called on farmers for help. “What we are doing is encouraging them to report suspicions of the disease for us to investigate free of charge.”
He said that it was impossible to contain the virus because it is thought to have infected the animals in England at the end of 2011.
But he added that with fewer than 1,000 farms affected across Europe with most reporting losses of 5 per cent the effect on farming was “not insignificant, but not catastrophic either”.
Dr Simmons also ruled out compensation for those farmers affected by SBV.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said it is unlikely Schmallenberg virus would cause disease in humans.