Up-to-date figures from the Netherlands Government and a
very proper proposal from the cautious Dutch on testing humans.
In Britain, the government veterinarians are still trying to locate the English Channel and hanging onto the theory that the wind from France, which did not have any cases in the area facing England, blew midges carrying Schmallenberg Virus ( SBV) to Norfolk, which as any school atlas will tell you, is many miles away from the English Channel and actually on the North Sea.
Oxford University using continental data have today, dealing with earlier epidemics of bluetongue, a different disease, asserted that the midges can fly against the wind anyway. Even so it is a long way across the North Sea.
Anyway, here is the Dutch government, on the ball, as always.
Schmallenberg virus now confirmed at 3 cattle
farms, 88 sheep farms and 5 goat farms
News item | 09-02-2012
Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade Henk
Bleker has notified the House of Representatives that the Netherlands Food and
Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has at 8 February 2012 received
reports from 450 farms of symptoms that could indicate infection with the
Schmallenberg virus. These reports have been received from 168 sheep farms, 261
cattle farms and 21 goat farms. The virus has been confirmed at 3 cattle farms,
88 sheep farms and 5 goat farms. Testing continues on a further 91 farms.
In Germany the virus has since been
detected at 10 cattle farms, 317 sheep farms and 15 goat farms. In Belgium the
virus has been found at 4 cattle farms, 83 sheep farms and 1 goat farm. As at
30 January the virus has been detected at 50 sheep farms in France and as at 25
January there have been confirmed cases at 32 sheep farms, 1 cattle farm and 1
goat farm in the United Kingdom.
Public Health
The Netherlands Environmental
Assessment Agency (RIVM) has concluded that based on all available information,
transmission of the virus to humans is highly unlikely. To identify human cases
of the virus both a viral antibody test and a test to identify the virus itself
have been developed. The RIVM is working on a proposal to test larger groups of
people in order to assess whether exposure to the virus can lead to infection.
A number of experts will meet next week to discuss this proposal, as well as
the theoretical risk to humans and what research is required to reach a
definitive conclusion on this matter.
