The Shamonda virus, a midge-borne livestock disease, has been identified in a human patient for the first time in France, French health authorities said on Thursday (October 22). The patient, treated at Hospices Civils de Lyon, died in early October, marking the first recorded human case of the virus.
Exceptional Case in Immunocompromised Patient
French authorities stressed that they saw no threat to the wider population at this stage. Shamonda virus is an insect-borne Orthobunyavirus chiefly affecting livestock, particularly cattle, and spread by biting midges.
"This is therefore an exceptional case involving a severely immunocompromised patient," the Ministry of Agriculture said. The leading theory is that the patient may have been bitten by a Culicoides type midge in eastern France.
Investigations and International Notifications
"Furthermore, according to investigations already carried out, the cerebral complications observed in the immunocompromised patient before his death were very likely linked to infection with the Shamonda virus," the authorities added. Clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are ongoing in partnership with expertise in human, animal and environmental health.
The agency said that despite decades of circulation of the Shamonda virus in Africa and Asia, no human cases had been documented until now. French health authorities have also informed international health organisations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Virus Spread in Europe
Initially identified in Nigeria during the mid-1960s, the illness has subsequently appeared sporadically in cattle across West, East and Southern Africa, as well as Japan. This summer represented the first occasion it emerged in Europe, including at cattle farms across France.
In August, APHA said cattle in Jersey displayed clinical symptoms matching those documented elsewhere in Europe, which returned positive tests for the virus. The agency said: "This confirms the virus is present in the British Isles and in close proximity to Great Britain, highlighting the potential for further spread across north-west Europe." Incidents were also documented in southern Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Impact on Livestock
Cattle are considered the primary host, though isolated infections in small ruminants and horses were also documented in France during the same timeframe. In affected adult cattle, the primary symptoms are fever, reduced appetite, watery or loose diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Affected dairy cows typically experience a sharp decline in their milk production.
