Livestock producers alert as SBV spreads

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has revealed that the Smallenberg Virus (SBV) has been discovered on farms in both North Yorkshire and Northumberland.

As a result, livestock producers are on high alert as the disease appears to be spreading across the country.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) in Scotland are also urging its farmers to be vigilant as the disease nears the English/Scottish border.

SBV is a midge-born virus, which first came to the UK from the continent last year. The disease causes serious abnormalities in newborn cattle and sheep.

Farmers were told to be vigilant at the end of summer as the warm, wet weather had provided a breeding ground for the midges. Since then, the disease has appeared in numerous English counties, as well as Wales.

Various organisations have been calling for the speedy development of a vaccination, however little is still known about SBV.

A spokesperson for the National Sheep Association (NSA) said: "NSA continues to push for a vaccine to be developed and licensed for UK use as quickly as possible, as we just do not know what is around the corner with this disease."