Arthur O’Riordan, a farmer from Meanus, Co Limerick, has lost up to 30% of this year’s lambs due to Schmallenberg virus (SBV).

“We have 40 ewes and we lost about a third of the lambs,” O’Riordan told the Irish Farmers Journal. “We never had it before and it really took us by surprise. We sent the animals to a lab and had it confirmed.”

SBV causes deformities in lambs and calves, with animals often being born prematurely and dying shortly after birth.

The disease is carried and spread by midges and sheep farmers have been reporting increased incidences this year.

Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture show that there were 40 confirmed cases of SBV submitted to its Regional Veterinary Labs up to 18 March, a 33% increase from the same period last year. Department figures also show a 57% increase in the number of sheep submitted for testing.

“It’s not nice. We had a lot of premature lambs and they’re difficult to deliver. I remember spending two to three hours trying to deliver a dead lamb,” O’Riordan said, adding that the event had upset the whole family.

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