ABSTRACT
Definition/overview Between August and October 2011, outbreaks of disease in adult cattle causing mild to moderate fever, reduced milk yield, loss of appetite, loss of body condition and diarrhoea were reported in both the Netherlands and Germany. Testing for common causes proved negative. From December 2011, abortions and stillbirths associated with foetal abnormalities, affecting mainly sheep but also cattle and goats, were identied in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. A new virus was identied in November 2011 as the cause of both conditions. This was named ‘Schmallenberg virus’ (SBV) after the German town where the virus was rst identied.
