France’s Health Ministry announced on Thursday, October 22, that the country has detected its first known case of human infection with the Shamonda virus, a virus commonly found in livestock. Unfortunately, the patient has passed away.
The virus was discovered at a hospital in Lyon, France. The patient was a severely immunocompromised individual who succumbed to the virus in early October.
According to the French Health Ministry, based on current understanding of the virus, it is not believed to pose a health risk to the general public at this time. Shamonda virus was previously thought not to infect humans.
In a statement, the French Health Ministry speculated that the victim may have been bitten by midges carrying the virus in eastern France. The virus had circulated among local animals during the spring and summer.
The French government has reported this infection case to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The ECDC stated that the patient passed away in early October after receiving treatment for a severe illness, making them more susceptible to the infection than the general population.
The WHO stated, “Based on current information and understanding of the closely related virus transmission pathways, this is an isolated human infection case, unlikely to result in broader transmission at this time.”
According to data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the Shamonda virus is transmitted by blood-sucking midges and is most commonly found in cows, but has also been detected in horses, camels, sheep, goats, and llamas.
In the mid-1960s, the Shamonda virus was first discovered in Nigeria. In late July of this year, after conducting genomic testing on affected cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland, and eastern France, Shamonda virus was confirmed in Europe for the first time.
Reports from France’s animal health weekly monitoring bulletin indicate that the virus has also been detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Jersey in the United Kingdom.
The French Ministry of Animal Health stated that the Shamonda virus has various impacts on animals, with infected cattle showing symptoms such as diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite, and in rare cases, fever.