French health authorities reported the first known human infection of the Shamonda virus in a severely immunocompromised patient who died earlier this month. The virus, an Orthobunyavirus typically spread by biting midges, has circulated among livestock in Africa and Asia for decades but was never previously detected in humans.
France Health Ministries State No Public Risk
Health ministries in France stated that there is no immediate health risk to the general public, characterizing the case as an exceptional occurrence involving a patient already hospitalized for a serious medical condition. University College Dublin’s Gerald Barry, who serves as deputy director of the UCD One Health Centre and assistant professor of virology, characterized this fatal human occurrence as unexpected and atypical, pointing out that sheep and cattle are the usual targets of the virus’s pathogenesis rather than people. Furthermore, Tom Solomon—who directs both The Pandemic Institute and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at the University of Liverpool—noted that catching the pathogen is exceedingly rare given the extensive duration it has spread among farm animals without any prior human infections.
Spread Across European Livestock Farms
The Shamonda virus first appeared in Europe in late July and has since been identified in farm animals across 14 western European countries. Earlier this month, the virus was detected on two dairy farms in Co Cork, marking the first time the emergent virus was found in Ireland, according to the Department of Agriculture. In cattle, symptoms include acute diarrhoea, fever, lethargy, and a drop in milk production. A study of nine French dairy herds cited by France 24 recorded a milk output drop of up to 75% during clinical episodes.
Expert Reactions to Vector-Borne Pathogens
Researchers note that Europe is experiencing an increase in mosquito- and midge-borne pathogens. Gerald Barry warned that cases involving different viruses are slowly moving northwards from the Mediterranean basin toward the UK and Ireland. Connor Bamford from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast called the rapid spread across Europe concerning, emphasizing that agricultural workers near affected animals should maintain increased awareness. SaBio Group researcher Roiz from the University of Castilla-La Mancha noted that animal and goods movement alongside climate changes make such occurrences expected in a globalized world requiring ongoing monitoring.
Ongoing Investigations and Next Steps
Clinical, biological, and epidemiological investigations remain ongoing to determine whether the virus caused or directly contributed to the patient’s death in Lyon, France. The World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have been notified of the detections as researchers continue working to establish how exposed humans are to midge-borne infections from livestock.
More on Shamonda
The Shamonda virus, a livestock pathogen, has been detected in a human for the first time in France, according to the WHO. The case raises questions about symptoms, transmission, and public health risks for both humans and animals. #ShamondaVirus #PublicHealth
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