As the world´s population increases and people's living conditions are improving, larger areas are needed for houses as well as food production. This means that new areas are exploited and that people, livestock, blood sucking insects and wild animals are forced to live close together. In combination with the global warming, leading to extreme weather such as floods and storms, this allows both new and old pathogens to emerge. The number of "emerging infectious diseases", EIDs, has increased in recent years and many of them have their origin in poor, tropical countries. Moçambique is therefore considered to be a high risk area for EIDs. Schmallenberg virus, SBV, was discovered in 2011 as an "emerging infectious disease" in dairy cows in Germany.

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a novel arthropod-borne orthobunyavirus emerging in Europe in 2011 to 2012. Acute SBV infection causes diarrhoea, fever and reduced milk production in dairy cattle, but it is mainly the reproductive disorders (abortions, malformed foetuses and stillborn animals) in ruminants that have caused substantial economical losses. The prevalence of the virus outside of Europe is poorly investigated. SBV or SBV-like antibodies were detected in Mozambique in 2013, which raised interest for a similar study in Tanzania. In this study in Tanzania, blood samples were collected from 478 sheep and goats from 39 herds in 15 different villages in three districts, covering areas in the north, south and east of Tanzania. The epidemiology of the virus was investigated by tracing antibodies by ELISA and mapping of the virus by PCR was started.

Hösten 2011 drabbades Tyskland och Nederländerna av ett okänt agens som orsakade diarré, nedsatt mjölkproduktion och feber hos nötkreatur. Efter en metagenomanalys av blodprover ifrån en drabbad besättning kunde man konstatera att orsaken till utbrotten var ett nytt virus; vilket senare fick namnet Schmallenbergvirus (SBV). Ett par månader senare upptäcktes fostermissbildningar hos både nöt, får och getter på flertalet ställen i Europa, och dessa kopplades senare samman med de första utbrotten av SBV. Viruset drabbar idisslare och verkar vara vektorburet. Vuxna idisslare som infekteras får viremi och uppvisar en kort period av diarré, nedsatt mjölkproduktion och feber ? men infektionen kan också vara subklinisk och passera obemärkt.