France reports first human case of Shamonda virus in a Lyon-area patient who died

Paris — France on Thursday reported the first human case of the Shamonda virus, a pathogen previously known only in livestock, in a patient in the Lyon area who died in early October. French authorities said that, based on available information, no risk to the general population has been identified, and described it as an exceptional case in a severely immunocompromised patient, according to a Reuters dispatch.

The leading hypothesis is that the man, in his 60s, was bitten by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France, where Shamonda circulated among animals during spring and summer 2026. Clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are ongoing to determine whether the virus caused or contributed to the death and how the infection was acquired, although authorities noted that the cerebral complications observed in the patient were very likely linked to the infection.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) confirmed it is monitoring the case closely and is in contact with French authorities and European partners to investigate potential public health implications. "Based on current knowledge about this virus, no health risk to the general population has been identified to date," the French government said in a statement.

The Shamonda virus, identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s, is an orthobunyavirus transmitted by biting midges that mainly affects cattle, although it has also been found in horses, alpacas, sheep and goats, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). It was confirmed in Europe only last July, following genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France, and has since been detected in animals in at least twelve European countries. During decades of circulation in Africa and Asia, it had never been documented in humans.

Photo: The Pharmacist

Source: Reuters