France reports first human Shamonda virus case, says no health risk

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkAubrac cows graze in a meadow in Aubrac, southern France, on May 19, 2022 [Lionel Bonaventure/AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff and ReutersPublished On 22 Oct 202622 Oct 2026French authorities have confirmed that a patient who died at a Lyon hospital earlier in October was infected with the Shamonda virus, the first such report of the virus in a human.In a statement on Thursday, the French Ministry of Agriculture stressed that there were no identifiable health risks to the general population at this time.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia denies imposing anti-plague measures after lab worker deathlist 2 of 4Conflict, drought increasing risk of famine in Sudan: Monitorlist 3 of 4Sweet scoop: Ice-cream study points to potential sugar substitutelist 4 of 4Namibia battles cattle disease outbreak as EU suspends several meat importsend of listShamonda is an orthobunyavirus – a group of viruses primarily carried and spread by insects – transmitted to animals, mainly cattle, by biting midges of the genus Culicoides.It was first detected in Nigeria in the 1960s, but has since been reported sporadically in East and Southern Africa, as well as Japan.Until now, the virus was considered non-transmissible to humans, making the patient in France the first documented human case. The French announcement said the leading hypothesis was that the patient was infected in eastern France, where the virus had circulated among animals this spring and summer.“Clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are continuing in conjunction with expertise in human, animal and environmental health,” the statement added.Shamonda was first confirmed in Europe in late July after genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.A report from France’s ‌weekly animal health surveillance bulletin said the virus had also been detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom’s Jersey.