Table 3

Lack of Evidence for Zoonotic Transmission of Schmallenberg Virus

Chantal Reusken¹

, Cees van den Wijngaard¹, Paul van Beek, Martin Beer, Ruth Bouwstra, Gert-Jan Godeke, Leslie Isken, Hans van den Kerkhof, Wilfrid van Pelt, Wim van der Poel, Johan Reimerink, Peter Schielen, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Piet Vellema, Ankje de Vries, Inge Wouters, and Marion Koopmans

Author affiliations: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands (C. Reusken, C. van den Wijngaard, P. van Beek, G.-J. Godeke, L. Isken, H. van den Kerkhof, W. van Pelt, J. Reimerink, P. Schielen, A. de Vries, M. Koopmans); Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Insel Riems, Germany (M. Beer); Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen University and Research Centre, Lelystad, the Netherlands (R. Bouwstra, W. van der Poel); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg (J. Schmidt-Chanasit); Animal Health Service, Deventer, the Netherlands (P. Vellema); and Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands (I. Wouters)

Main Article

Main characteristics of study participants* in study to determine whether SBV can be zoonotically transmitted, the Netherlands*

Exposure group, risk factor	Exposed	Participants, no. (%)/additional information
All
Total		301/age 18–88 y; mean 47 y; 25th–75th percentile 36–58 y; 62% male
Exposure to biting insects on SBV-infected farm(s)	Yes	150 (50)
	No	71 (24)
	Unknown	80 (26)
Farmers, total		234
Working and living on SBV-infected farm		191 (82)
Working on SBV-infected farm		26 (11)
Living on SBV-infected farm		15 (6)
Unknown		2 (1)
Exposure to animals
Sheep
Regular contact with lambs and/or birth products on   SBV-infected farm	Yes	110, of whom 88 reported hand (skin) injuries during work
	No	31
Total		141
Goats
Regular contact with kids and/or birth products on   SBV-infected farm	Yes	3, of whom 3 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work
	No	10
Total		13
Cattle
Regular contact with calves and/or birth products on   SBV-infected farm	Yes	90, of whom 72 reported regular (hand) skin injuries during work
	No	38
Total		128
Veterinarians
Total		67/1–50 SBV-infected farms visited per veterinarian; median 4
Exposure to animals
Sheep
Contact with malformed lambs and/or birth products	Yes†	19, of whom 18 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work
	No	29
Total		48
Goats
Contact with malformed lambs and/or birth products	Yes†	1 who reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work
	No	29
Total		30
Cattle
Contact with malformed calves and/or birth products	Yes†	33, of whom 28 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work
	No	20
Total		53
Contact with malformed lambs/calves during section at   Animal Health Service	Yes	11, of whom 6 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work.

*Overall, 50 (75%) of 67 veterinarians reported contact with malformed lambs/calves and/or birth products of which 40 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work. Overall, 179 (76%) of 234 farmers, farm residents and farm employees reported regular contact with newborn lambs/calves and/or birth products on SBV-infected farms, of which 140 reported regular hand (skin) injuries during work. SBV, Schmallenburg virus.
†All tested seronegative.

Main Article

¹These authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: October 16, 2012

Page updated: October 16, 2012

Page reviewed: October 16, 2012

The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.