Volume 18, Number 8—August 2012
Dispatch
Lack of Evidence for Schmallenberg Virus Infection in Highly Exposed Persons, Germany, 2012
Tanja Ducomble1, Hendrik Wilking1
, Klaus Stark, Anja Takla, Mona Askar, Lars Schaade, Andreas Nitsche, and Andreas Kurth
, Klaus Stark, Anja Takla, Mona Askar, Lars Schaade, Andreas Nitsche, and Andreas KurthTable 1
Self-reported exposure and symptoms of persons exposed to novel SBV, Germany, 2012*
| Exposure category† | No. shepherds exposed/total no. (%) | No. shepherds with symptoms/total no. exposed (%)‡ |
|---|---|---|
| Sheep husbandry in SBV-epizootic area | 60/60 (100) | 9/60 (15) |
| Laboratory-confirmed SBV infection in livestock | 36/60 (60) | 5/36 (14) |
| Contact with birth products or with lambs that had characteristic signs of SBV disease | 48/60 (80) | 8/48 (17) |
| Contact with adult sheep that had characteristic signs of SBV disease | 28/51 (55) | 5/28 (18) |
| Frequent insect bites in SBV-epizootic area§ | 22/56 (39) | 5/22 (23) |
*SBV, Schmallenberg virus.
†Multiple responses possible.
‡Self-reported signs and symptoms of fever, headache, skin rash, myalgia/arthralgia, respiratory problems, or photophobia since SBV infection appeared in the study area or after handling diseased animals and resulting from unknown cause in each exposure category.
§Self-reported as ‘”very often” or “often.”
1These authors contributed equally to this article.
