Acute Schmallenberg virus infections, France, 2012.

To the Editor: After unexpected emergence of bluetongue virus serotype 8 in northern Europe in 2006 (1), another arbovirus, Schmallenberg virus (SBV), which is transmitted by Culicoides spp. biting midges, emerged in Europe in 2011 and caused disease outbreaks among ruminants (2). 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 (2,3).