Shamonda Virus Found in a Human for the First Time: Patient Dies in France, Authorities Say No Risk

The Shamonda virus, until now found only in animals, has been detected in a human being for the first time. Authorities in France say a patient infected with the virus died in early October, but they have reassured the public that it is 'an exceptional case' and that there is 'no health risk for the general population'.

France's agriculture, food and health authorities said on Thursday that the patient was severely immunocompromised and had been receiving treatment for a serious illness that made them more susceptible to infection and complications.

According to the authorities, the brain complications observed in the patient before their death 'would most likely be linked to the infection with the Shamonda virus'. However, it is still not clear whether the virus caused or contributed to the patient's death, or exactly how the infection was acquired.

French authorities believe the patient may have been infected by a midge bite in eastern France, an area where the virus has been circulating in animals since the spring.

The Shamonda virus spreads between animals through bites from infected midges. It was detected in European farm animals for the first time this year; previously it had been found only in countries outside Europe, predominantly in Africa. It is mainly observed in cattle, but there have also been infections in horses, sheep, goats and an alpaca.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that since the summer the virus has been detected in farm animals in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. In cattle, its symptoms include fever, diarrhoea, lethargy, reduced milk production and mild respiratory signs.

The ECDC said it is 'carefully monitoring the situation' and is in touch with French authorities and European partners to 'investigate the potential public health implications of this first human infection'.

Health authorities have long warned that zoonotic spillover — the jump of diseases from animals to humans — could be behind the next pandemic. Currently, over 60 percent of emerging infectious disease threats are of zoonotic origin, including Covid-19 and Ebola.

As diseases adapt and jump from wild animals to pets to humans, their potential as pandemic threats evolves too. For this reason scientists have been on high alert for diseases such as bird flu — and the first human infection with Shamonda is gaining added significance in that context.

French authorities, however, have stressed that this is 'an exceptional case in a highly immunocompromised patient' and that there is 'no health risk for the general population'. There is so far no evidence that the virus can spread among healthy people.

For experts, the biggest questions now are exactly how the virus crossed from animals into a human body, and what it is capable of. The joint investigation by the ECDC and French authorities may answer those questions; for now, surveillance is focused on the spread of the virus among farm animals across Europe.