Schmallenberg virus (SBV)

[Colin]

Not good news, but it looks like a new midge borne disease has reached our shores from the continent. I hadn't heard anything about it until today. Seems to have arrived last autumn, peaking in late October. It can cause stillbirths and deformities in lambs and calves, so we need to be on high alert for these. Highest risk period for lambs is if the mother is infected at approximately one month into gestation. Don't know if this is also true for cattle.

To date 52 confirmed cases have been found in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Hampshire and today Cornwall. Higher risk areas also include Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and an increase in risk for South Wales.

Seems to have affected sheep more than cattle so far, but I worry that may be due to the shorter gestation period for sheep. Seems to be one thing after the next.

Regards,

Colin

[Duncan MacIntyre]

As Colin says this is a new disease, so of course we do not know a lot about it yet. Europe and UK top researchers are working on it, but it will be some time before we have accurate tests, vaccines etc. DEFRA's website has a page giving the latest reliable info on it, and the next issue of the Dexter Bulletin will give it some coverage. It is thought that it is mainly spread by midges, which can as we know blow quite a distance - so in some ways we can do little at the moment to protect our stock. Moving animals out of known affected areas is the one thing I can see that will be best avoided - we can control that, but not much to do about the midges.

Keep an eye on farming and veterinary press, and the Defra website for updates. In the meantime I recall my mother's advice on worrying - if there is nothing you can do about the problem, don't destroy yourself worrrying about it. Keep the worrying for issues you can do something about.

Duncan

[JohnnyP]

Agree with Duncan's mother, and reminds me of a phrase favoured by an Olympian rowing friend of mine "Control the controllables". We used to laugh at him for that, but it makes sense if you think about it.

BTW I'm a new member, and have just started a small herd on the Isle of Skye (herd name Kilmarie) mainly for land management purposes and occasional domestic consumption. Very glad to be able to contact experienced Dexter owners via this forum. All the best, John.

[jeanthomas]

Hi

We have a deformed dexter bull calf here. He was born on 14th February - Valentine. Poor little chap appears to have a hair lip and only one formed nostril. When I first saw him it was dark and he looked perfectly normal and healthy - imagine my face the following morning? Many things raced through my head - but then I found my sensible head - he was managing to suckle, no sign of him choking/coughing/milk coming back out of his good nostril. In all other ways he was behaving like a normal healthy calf - and his mum was full of milk and seems very proud of him. I have got my vet involved and at present I am just keeping a watching brief so to speak. I turned him out with his perfectly normal half brother and I would say Valentine out run him. Whether he will be able to graze I am not certain. He is trying to eat hay but I am not quite sure how successfull that is. We have had three calves born since January and two are perfect. His mum is 13 years old and I am not sure if it is the virus or just one of those things? No more calves due but do have shetland sheep. So far we have two healthy twin lambs so fingers crossed.

Jean

[Tim Watson]

Dear Jean,
I have no experience of this but it sound almost identical to a section of a book I have just read called 'Essential Guide to Calving' by Heather Smith Thomas. It is an American book but helped us as first time calvers with good pencil drawings and descriptions etc. The passage is on page 183 and the following extract was what made me make the connection although their one couldn't suckle, as follows:-

"Prue was born on a cold January day in the calving pen. When we out to iodine Hazel's calf we were startled by her face - her nose was not properly formed. We brought her into the house to dry by the stove and so that we could get a better look at her problem. She had a cleft palate. The calf's nostril on the right side was open at the bottom with nothing separating it from her mouth. There was no roof to her mouth for about 2 inches back and the teeth in her misaligned bottom jaw were crooked.'

They ended up feeding it it with a long nipple on a feed bucket as theirs had a hole in the roof of its mouth. It learnt to drink from a trough by blocking the hole and grazed fine - lived to be 15 and raised not only her own calves but also some fostered ones.

If you would like me to scan the passage send me a PM.