France Reports First Known Human Case of Shamonda Virus

French authorities have reported the first known human case of Shamonda virus, in a patient who died in early October. The announcement came on Thursday, 22 October, and was also reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Union's agency that tracks infectious diseases.

Shamonda virus mainly affects cattle. It spreads through infected midges, which are tiny biting flies, and it has also been found in sheep, goats, alpacas and horses. In dairy herds, the virus can cause fever, diarrhoea and a drop in milk production. It has circulated for decades in Africa and Asia, but until now it had only been identified in animals, and it was considered unable to pass to people.

The patient was being treated for a serious illness at a hospital in Lyon, in eastern France. The patient had a weakened immune system, a condition known as being immunocompromised, and developed neurological complications, which affect the brain and nerves. Those complications are thought to be very likely linked to the virus, according to BBC News.

France's health and agriculture ministries said on Thursday that the patient most likely caught the virus from a midge bite in eastern France. Cases of Shamonda virus in animals in the same region had been identified earlier this year, though the ministries' statement does not change the picture for the public. French health officials described the case as exceptional and said there is currently no risk to the public.

The ECDC said it was monitoring the situation and working with French and European partners to investigate any possible public health implications. The virus has also been detected in farm animals in Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Jersey. The French case has been reported to the World Health Organization, the United Nations agency for global health.

Clinical investigations of the patient, laboratory tests and epidemiological studies, meaning work to trace how the disease spread, are ongoing, according to Anadolu Agency.