UK first in EU to get Merck’s new Schmallenberg vaccine

LONDON (Reuters) – British farmers will be the first in Europe to get a vaccine against Schmallenberg virus, a new livestock disease that hit the continent in 2011. Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday that MSD Animal Health, a unit of Merck & Co, had been issued a license for the new vaccine after an accelerated assessment to make it available this summer. As a result, farmers will be able to vaccinate sheep and cattle before most of them become pregnant, which is important as exposure to the virus can cause damage to foetuses. …