ProMED-mail |

Published Date: 2012-02-07 15:34:39
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Schmallenberg virus - Europe (15): update, OIE
Archive Number: 20120207.1035481

SCHMALLENBERG VIRUS - EUROPE (15): UPDATE, OIE
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

In this update:
[1] Germany, OIE follow-up report No 3
[2] UK, OIE follow-up report No 1
[3] UK, DEFRA update, 1st cattle case
[4] UK, comment

******
[1] Germany, OIE follow-up report No 3
Date: Mon 6 Feb 2012
Source: OIE-WAHID interface Weekly Disease Information Vol. 25 (6) [edited]
http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=11563

Schmallenberg-Virus, Germany
----------------------------
Information received on 03 Feb 2012 from Dr. Karin Schwabenbauer, Ministerial Dirigentin and Chief Veterinary Officer, Directorate of Animal Health, Animal Welfare, Bundesministerium fur Ernahrung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz (BMELV), Bonn, Germany

Summary
-------
Report type: Follow-up report No. 3
Start date: 27 Dec 2011
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 12 Jan 2012
Report date: 03 Feb 2012
Date submitted to OIE: 03 Feb 2012
Reason for notification: Emerging disease
Morbidity: 1.81 percent
Mortality: 1.58 percent
Zoonotic impact: No
Causal agent: Schmallenberg virus

New outbreaks
[For details on each of the 125 SBV outbreaks covered in this report, please refer to the source's URL above. - Mod.AS]

Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 125
Total animals affected:
Species/ Susceptible*/ Cases/ Deaths/ Destroyed/ Slaughtered
Cattle/ 207/ 1/ 0/ 0/ 0
Sheep/ 27 635/ 538/ 436/ 19/ 0
Sheep & goats/ 5233/ 11/ 9/ 0/ 0
Goats/ 50/ 3/ 3/ 0/ 0

[*For SBV, the actual susceptible population should preferably be based upon the number of pregnant animals. - Mod.AS]

Outbreak statistics [But see above comment re susceptible population]
Species/ Apparent morbidity rate/ Apparent mortality rate/ Apparent case fatality rate/ Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Cattle/ 0.48 percent/ 0.00 percent/ 0.00 percent/ 0.00 percent
Sheep/ 1.95 percent/ 1.58 percent/ 81.04 percent/ 1.65 percent
Sheep & goats/ 0.21 percent/ 0.17 percent/ 81.82 percent/ 0.17 percent
Goats/ 6.00 percent/ 6.00 percent/ 100.00 percent/ 6.00 percent

* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter
[The actual morbidity/mortality rates deserves to be calculated]

Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: Unknown or inconclusive; Vectors

Epidemiological comments: Geographical coordinates of the affected establishments were anonymised by dropping the last 2 numeric characters. So the map gives only an overview about the geographical distribution of the virus in Germany.

Control measures
Measures applied: Control of arthropods; Screening; Modified stamping out; No vaccination; No treatment of affected animals

Measures to be applied: No other measures

Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type: Friedrich-Loeffler Institute (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species/ Test/ Test date/ Result
Sheep/ polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/ 12 Jan 2012/ Positive

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[A summary of the German situation, with all 212 accumulated OIE-reported SBV outbreaks shown on an interactive map, as of 3 Feb 2012, is available at http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=event_summary&reportid=11514. See also the final commentary of this posting, below. - Mod.AS]

******
[2] UK, OIE follow-up report No.1
Date: Mon 6 Feb 2012
Source: OIE-WAHID interface Weekly Disease Information Vol. 25 (6) [edited]
http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=11586

Schmallenberg virus, United Kingdom
-----------------------------------
Information received on 03 Feb 2012 from Dr Nigel Gibbens, Chief Veterinary Officer, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, United Kingdom

Summary
-------
Report type Follow-up: report No. 1
Start date: 14 Jan 2012
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 23 Jan 2012
Report date: 03 Feb 2012
Date submitted to OIE: 03 Feb 2012
Reason for notification: Emerging disease
Morbidity 4.9 percent
Mortality 2.2 percent
Zoonotic impact: No
Causal agent: Schmallenberg virus [SBV]

[For details on each of the 7 SBV outbreaks covered in this report, please refer to the source's URL above. - Mod.AS]
Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 7

Total animals affected
Species/ Susceptible/ Cases
Sheep/ 467/ 29

[*For SBV, the actual susceptible population should preferably be based upon the number of pregnant animals. - Mod.AS]

Outbreak statistics [But see above comment re susceptible population]
Species/ Apparent morbidity rate/ Apparent mortality rate/ Apparent case fatality rate/ Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Sheep 6.21 percent/ **/ **/ **

* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter
** Not calculated because of missing information

Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: Unknown or inconclusive

Epidemiological comments: All farms are in the 'at risk' areas for vector incursion from continental Europe.
Geographical coordinates of the affected establishments were anonymised by placing the coordinates on a public place in the nearest town. The map provides only an overview about the geographical distribution of the virus to assist in epidemiological analysis.
The outbreaks Norfolk 3 and Essex 2 were confirmed by real-time PCR.

Control measures
Measures applied: No vaccination; No treatment of affected animals

Measures to be applied: No other measures

Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type: Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), Weybridge (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species/ Test/ Test date/ Result
Sheep/ gene sequencing/ 23 Jan 2012/ Positive
Sheep/ real-time PCR/ 23 Jan 2012/ Positive

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[A summary of the UK situation, with the 11 accumulated OIE-reported SBV outbreaks shown on an interactive map, is available at
http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=event_summary&reportid=11539. Additional recent outbreaks are reported in item 3, further. - Mod.AS]

******
[3] UK - DEFRA update, 1st cattle case
Date: Tue 7 Feb 2012
Source: DEFRA - AHVLA Web site, news [edited]
http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla/2012/02/07/feb-schmallenberg-virus-further-uk-testing-results/

Schmallenberg virus: further UK testing results
------------------------------------------------
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has now been identified in samples submitted from 29 farms across the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Hertfordshire.

All of the counties where SBV infection has been identified are in the zones recognised as potentially at risk from infected midges being blown across last summer from affected areas in northern mainland Europe. Enhanced surveillance for SBV infection has been implemented across Great Britain (GB) and the number of samples submitted to AHVLA for SBV testing continues to increase.

The current situation is in line with our current understanding of SBV, but our knowledge about this disease is developing and the area of GB considered at risk of SBV infection might increase as new information becomes available about the extent of infection in Europe.

Previously, all of the GB cases of SBV infection had been diagnosed in sheep, but AHVLA has now identified SBV in a cattle sample from a farm in West Sussex. This is the 1st positive cattle sample in GB and additional tests are in progress on this sample. Other affected countries have detected the virus in cattle.

At present, a Europe-wide assessment has concluded that SBV is unlikely to cause illness in people. However, as this is a new virus, work is ongoing to identify whether it could cause any health problems in humans. The Health Protection Agency has provided some questions and answers on SBV on its website
[see http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/EmergingInfections/SchmallenbergVirus/emergSchmallenbergQandA/].

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

******
[4] UK - comment
Date: Sat 4 Feb 2012
Source: The Veterinary Record Vol 170 (5), 110: Comment [summarised, edited]
http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/170/5/110.full

Schmallenberg virus and surveillance
------------------------------------
The emergence of Schmallenberg virus [SBV] can certainly not be described as welcome. Nevertheless, it is both salutary and timely, as it comes at a time when arrangements for surveillance in England and Wales are under review. It is precisely this kind of emerging disease threat that scanning surveillance aims to detect -- and it is also this kind of disease threat that might not be detected promptly if, for whatever reason, arrangements for surveillance fall short of the mark. With funding for surveillance in England and Wales set to reduce, the emergence and detection of Schmallenberg virus provides an important reminder of why surveillance is so vital.

The new virus provides a reminder, too, that surveillance is not just a local issue, and that robust networks are also needed nationally and internationally, with international cooperation playing a crucial role. Suspicions were raised in Germany and the Netherlands between October and November last year [2011], with reports of signs in cattle including fever, reduced milk yield, inappetence, loss of condition and diarrhoea. In November, after ruling out other pathogens, scientists in Germany isolated and sequenced viral genetic material from clinically ill cattle and identified the new virus. Since then, there have been reports of deformities in newborn ruminants (mostly sheep, but also cattle and goats) in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and, most recently, the UK, where, on 23 Jan 2012, the AHVLA reported that the virus had been detected in samples from sheep with clinical signs consistent with SBV infection on 4 farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex [updated data on the UK and other affected counties is available in other items of this posting; France has joined the list of affected countries and submitted to the OIE its 1st SBV report on 31 Jan 2012. - Mod.AS]

The virus is thought likely to be transmitted by insect vectors and the affected farms in the UK were all in counties that had been identified as having been at risk from infected midges blown across the English Channel from affected areas on the Continent.

It is still too early to say how the outbreak will progress, but, as the lambing season gets underway, it is all too possible that more cases will emerge.

Although the disease is not notifiable, vets who are aware of suspicious signs on their clients' farms are being encouraged to report them to the AHVLA in England and Wales, the SAC in Scotland and DARD in Northern Ireland, which are keen to investigate potential cases. That they are in a position to do so is due in no small part to collaboration with colleagues elsewhere in Europe with, for example, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute in Germany having made protocols and virus material available for use by other EU member states to help advance knowledge of this new disease. This kind of cooperation is commendable and highlights the importance of collaboration between investigating laboratories and the need for surveillance and other efforts to combat disease to be firmly underpinned by research.

SBV is not the 1st new disease to be detected by scanning surveillance, nor will it be the last. It was scanning surveillance that identified the emergence of BSE in the late 1980s and, in more recent years, it has been responsible for, among other things, the early detection of pandemic H1N1 influenza in pigs, 4 notifiable avian disease outbreaks, bovine TB in non-bovine species, antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella and virulent psoroptic mange in cattle. The AHVLA has noted that the value of its surveillance programme has greatly exceeded the cost in recent years, with monetised benefits having been estimated at over 200 million pounds [USD 317 832 282] a year.

The review being undertaken in England and Wales aims to find ways of carrying out surveillance more effectively and at lower cost to the taxpayer. With spending on the scanning surveillance programme being cut from 10 million pounds [USD 15 890 401] in 2009/10 to 6 million {USD 9 533 928] by 2014, this is not just a theoretical exercise. Ultimately, the shape of surveillance in England and Wales will be determined by the outcome of the debate on partnership working and responsibility and cost sharing. Progress in this debate has so far been slow but, as far as surveillance is concerned, the need for a solution is pressing. One of the problems with surveillance is that, very often, you are trying to find something you don't know is there until you've looked for it. It can be hard to persuade people to make the necessary investment in this and there must be concern about whether the mechanisms devised for responsibility and cost sharing will ever be able to make up for the imminent shortfall in funding.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[France's immediate notification to the OIE on SBV, providing data on the 1st 29 outbreaks -- all in sheep -- was submitted on 31 Jan 2012; see, with interactive map, at http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=event_summary&reportid=11568.

The Dutch SBV map as of 7 Feb 2012 is available at http://www.vwa.nl/txmpub/files/?p_file_id=2201854. (Red dots - sheep, blue dots - cattle, yellow dots - goats). The Dutch table of testing results as of 7 Feb 2012 is available at http://www.vwa.nl/txmpub/files/?p_file_id=2201855. The total accumulated number of complaining farms is 432 (247 cattle, 165 sheep, 20 goat farms), of which positives: 3 cattle farms (55 still under examination), 88 sheep (19) and 5 goat farms (2).

The Belgian SBV map as of 6 Feb 2012 is available at http://www.afsca.be/_pictures/users/Schmallenberg_20120203_000.jpg
(Blue dots - sheep, green - cattle, red - goats).

The Belgian table of testing results as of 6 Feb 2012 is available at http://www.afsca.be/dierengezondheid/schmallenberg/_documents/Schmallenberg_resultaten_20120206_nl.pdf. The total accumulated number of complaining farms is 383 (from which 774 samples have been derived), including 252 complaining cattle farms, 124 sheep farms, 7 goat farms. SBV Positive: 4 cattle farms, 83 sheep and 1 goat farm.

The German SBV map as of 6 Feb 2012 is available at http://www.fli.bund.de/fileadmin/dam_uploads/tierseuchen/Schmallenberg_Virus/Karten/Map_Schmallenberg_20120206.jpg. The numbers are: sheep (red dots) - 294 SBV-positive farms, cattle (blue dots) - 8 positive farms, goats (green dots) - 12 positive farms. Notably, outbreaks can be seen adjacent to the borders with the (so far unaffected) neighbouring countries Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland and the Czech Republic.

So far, the number of SBV-confirmed cattle farms, compared to sheep, is strikingly low: 8 in Germany (most of which not with congenital malformations but clinical cases in Aug-Sep 2011), 4 in Belgium, 3 in the Netherlands, and 1 in the UK). Is this a reflection of a diagnostic problem or of the true epidemiological situation? The issue may become clearer during during the coming 2 months.

SBV's emerging scenario, including its impact upon international trade, is to be discussed during the meeting of EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health - SCFCAH (Section Animal Health and Welfare), convened in Brussels today and tomorrow (7 and 8 Feb 2012). - Mod.AS.]

See Also