BVA calls for SBV test development
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has called for the urgent development of a serological test for identifying the Schmallenberg Virus (SBV). The disease is currently diagnosed by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) by a lengthy laboratory test provided by the Netherlands and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute involving expensive and time-consuming genetic analysis.
BVA President Carl Padgett has warned that the present form of testing only confirms the most visible suspected cases and does not provide any indication as to how many farms have been affected. He also warned that it was possible thousands of animals in eastern England had been infected over autumn. “But until we get a serological blood test that shows exposure, we don’t know where the infection has gone and the proportion of infected animals that have these horrible problems with the lamb crop,” said Mr Padgett.
“Everyone is desperate for the serological test. We need it to understand where the virus has got to so we can prepare for what we have to do and assess the impact of this infection. Until we get it we are operating in a bit of black hole.”
SBV is believed to be carried by infected midges either carried to the UK by live exports or blown across the English Channel. Mr Padgett also indicated that the next 'big concern' was whether the start of midge season in spring will lead to a new wave of infections. It is believed that the full extent of the spread of SBV will only become apparent during calving and lambing, due to the disease causing stillbirths and severe congenital defects.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
