Schmallenberg virus: alert over midges as weather warms

Common midges are likely be spreading a disease which has caused thousands of lambs and calves to be born dead or horribly deformed, scientists have found.

Schmallenberg virus, which has caused devastation across Europe, has now been confirmed on 209 farms in southern and eastern England, with cases stretching as far north as Lincolnshire.

Scientists examining the virus, which appears to be an entirely new disease, now believe they have identified how it is spread.

Researchers in Belgium, where hundreds of farms have been hit since December, have found three species of midge that carry the virus and so are likely to be responsible for passing the virus between animals.

All three species of midges – Culicoides obsoletus, Culicoides dewulfi and Culicoides pulicaris – are native to Britain.

Culicoides obsoletus is one of the most abundant species found on farms in the UK and is also responsible for transmitting the Bluetongue virus, which caused widespread disease in livestock in 2007 when insects were blown across the channel. Read More