Regional Veterinary Laboratories (RVLs) in Ireland have examined over 1,300 foetuses (post-mortem) to-date in 2024.
Of the 1,331 foetuses examined, 804 were bovine (cattle), 516 were ovine (sheep), and 11 were caprine (goats).
The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) is urging the investigation of any birth deformities seen in calves or lambs this year.
The DAFM’s RVLs have detected an uptick in the number of confirmed cases of Schmallenberg virus (SBV), a midge-borne virus that can cause birth deformities in calves and lambs.
Year Date of delivery to lab RVL Subclass Species County 2023 December 15 Kilkenny Foetus Bovine Tipperary 2024 January 16 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Wexford 2024 January 26 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Wexford 2024 February 15 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Kilkenny 2024 February 28 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Kilkenny 2024 February 29 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Kilkenny 2024 March 7 Kilkenny Foetus Ovine Kilkenny 2024 March 19 Kilkenny Foetus Bovine Wexford 2024 April 25 Kilkenny Foetus Bovine Kilkenny
As set out in the table above, there have been nine cases of SBV identified to date in 2024 – six in sheep and three in cattle, in the locations outlined.
According to the DAFM, when SBV was detected first in Ireland in 2012, the impact of the disease was short-term, after immunity built up in cattle and sheep (through exposure and vaccination).
Since then, there have been a small number of outbreaks, and the DAFM has described SBV as “a low-impact disease overall,” except on a small number of farms where animals were infected at the stage of pregnancy when the foetus in-utero is most susceptible to the effects of the virus, which results in the birth of deformed off-spring.
While SBV is regarded by the DAFM as “a low-impact virus,” the RVLs are emphasising the value of ensuring that deformed calves and lambs are submitted to them for testing, to increase the surveillance for both SBV and the “potentially more impactful” bluetongue virus (BTV), according to the DAFM.