Acute Schmallenberg virus infections, France, 2012. (Letter)

After unexpected emergence of bluetongue virus serotype 8 in northern Europe in 2006, another arbovirus, Schmallenberg virus (SBV), which is transmitted by Culicoides spp. biting midges, emerged in Europe in 2011 and caused disease outbreaks among ruminants. Nonspecific clinical signs such as fever, decreased milk production, and diarrhea were associated with acute infection in cattle, and late abortions and birth defects in newborns were associated with infection of pregnant cows, ewes, and goats. The consequences of SBV recirculation should be investigated, particularly in pregnant cows, ewes, and goats. The 2 SBV-positive farms described in this report are located in a previously SBV-free area (Finistère-Brittany) or an area in which the infection rate was low (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) in the winter of 2011–2012, during which seroprevalence for most herds was probably weak (C. Sailleau et al., unpub. data). Therefore, reemergence of cases of congenital forms of SBV infection in France and others areas of Europe can be expected.