Shamonda virus detected in human for first time in France; patient dies

French health authorities announced on Thursday, October 22, that Shamonda virus, a virus commonly seen in cattle, had been detected in a human in France for the first time. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said investigations into the case are continuing. French authorities disclosed that the patient died in early October; however, whether the death was directly caused by Shamonda virus has not yet been confirmed.

According to an ECDC statement, the patient was receiving treatment for another serious illness and had an immune system vulnerable to infection. French authorities are focusing on the possibility that the patient contracted the virus in the country's east; Shamonda virus had previously been detected in farm animals in that region during spring and summer months. Transmission may have occurred through a bite from an infected Culicoides midge; definitive source investigations are ongoing.

Shammonda virus, first identified in the mid-1960s in Nigeria, was confirmed by genetic analysis in cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland, and eastern France in late July 2023. According to a weekly animal health monitoring bulletin published in France, the virus was subsequently detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Jersey, affiliated with the United Kingdom.

An investigation conducted across nine dairy farms in France found that milk production in herds affected by the virus declined by as much as 75 percent. Infected animals may show symptoms such as fever, lethargy, diarrhea, and reduced milk yield. According to World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) data, the virus has been detected in horses, alpacas, sheep, and goats in addition to cattle. According to a WOAH statement, there is currently no commercially available vaccine against Shamonda virus.