The following is an edited excerpt.
A virus that causes stillbirths and birth defects in lambs and calves has spread to more than 1,500 UK farms, new government figures show.
Cases of Schmallenberg have now been reported in all the counties of England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland.
Joanne Pugh of the National Sheep Association told BBC News: “It’s incredibly high impact for the flocks that have had it and had massive losses. But as an overall picture across the whole sheep flock it’s a low impact disease.”
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She said the effect of Schmallenberg (SBV) on individual farms could be devastating, causing much hardship for farmers.
Read the full article here: Livestock virus found on 1,500 farms
