Shropshire farmers warned to be vigilant for Schmallenberg virus
Shropshire farmers are being urged to be vigilant for the Schmallenberg virus after a ram taken to Orkney from Shropshire was found to be carrying the disease.
The first cases of the Schmallenberg virus in the UK were found early this year in farms in the south and east of England.
If infected when pregnant, ewes and cows can give birth to offspring with severe deformities, from bent limbs to animals born without a brain.
There is believed to be no risk to human health, the deformed animals are removed from the food chain.
Farmers have been warned that the signs of infection include stillbirths or major birth defects in lambs and calves, and fever, reduced milk yield and loss of appetite in adult animals, which suffer only brief, mild to moderate symptoms.
The risks to offspring occur only if females become infected with the virus during the early to middle stages of pregnancy.
