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What’s happening with Shamonda virus after France’s first human case?

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“Shamonda virus”

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What’s happening with Shamonda virus after France’s first human case?

France has documented the first known human infection with Shamonda virus, a virus previously identified in animals. The patient, who had a severely weakened immune system, died in early October. Health authorities are investigating whether the infection contributed to his death; that has not been established.

The World Health Organization says the case appears isolated and there is no broader risk to the public at present. WHO is in contact with French authorities and is monitoring the investigation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has also identified this as the first recognised human infection.

Investigators are still trying to determine how the patient acquired the virus. Shamonda is transmitted among animals by bites from Culicoides midges, small insects resembling flies, but the route of infection in this case is unknown. The patient lived in an area where the virus was circulating in animals and the midges were present.

Shamonda virus primarily affects cattle, and has also been found in sheep, goats, horses and alpacas. In livestock it can cause signs such as fever, diarrhoea and reduced milk production. Infection during pregnancy may also lead to abnormalities in newborn animals. Those effects do not establish what happened in the French patient.

The virus was first identified in cattle in Nigeria in 1965 and has been found in Africa and Japan. It appeared in European livestock this summer, first in southern Germany and Switzerland, and has since been detected in animals elsewhere in Western Europe, including France. The reports describe a human case in France, not a case in Kenya.

Shamonda belongs to the Orthobunyavirus group, which includes related viruses such as Schmallenberg and Akabane. The animal spread in Europe gives authorities reason to investigate the unusual human infection, but it does not show that the virus is spreading between people. Further study is needed to clarify both transmission and the possible health risks.

French authorities are collecting information on the source of the infection and possible routes of transmission. WHO says it will share updates as it learns more. For now, the patient’s underlying condition and the uncertain role of the virus remain central to understanding the case.

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