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Spread by biting insects such as midges and mosquitoes, there is no known treatment.
BBC: Wroxham Barns' supply of lambs hit by Schmallenberg virus
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Bluetongue is quiescent over the winter, when it is too cold for midges.
ECONOMIST: Bird flu
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Schmallenberg has so far been seen in sheep, cattle and goats, and is thought to be carried by midges.
BBC: Schmallenberg virus: First Welsh case in Ceredigion
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Not all bite complaints are due to fleas, of course - many can be attributed to bedbugs, midges and mosquitoes.
BBC: Who, What, Why: Have flea numbers jumped?
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And just a few days later, bluetongue, a disease of ruminants that is spread by midges, made its first British appearance.
ECONOMIST: Bird flu
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The NFU has called for a vaccine to be made available for the virus, which is spread by midges, as soon as possible.
BBC: Schmallenberg: Farmers on 'tenterhooks' during lambing
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"It is just impossible to control midges across an area the size of Europe, " Prof Drew told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee.
BBC: Farm virus 'can infect wild animals'
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It spread via midges throughout parts of Europe and southern England.
BBC: A cow (generic)
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It is believed the virus was carried to England by midges blown across the Channel and was then spread by native midges during summer 2012, government scientists said.
BBC: Cattle
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It was believed the virus was carried to England by midges blown across the Channel and was then spread by native midges during the summer, government scientists said.
BBC: Lambs
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Officials are waiting to see whether the recent outbreak was caused by a few midges blown over from the continent or whether it has become endemic, in which case it will reappear in spring.
ECONOMIST: Bird flu