French authorities have said the first known human case of Shamonda virus, or Shav, has been detected in a patient who died in early October. Health officials described it as an ‘exceptional case in a severely immunocompromised patient’ and said there is currently no risk to the public.
The virus mainly affects livestock, where it can cause fever, diarrhoea and poor milk production. It spreads through infected midges, and while cases have occurred in sheep, goats, alpacas and horses, infections in people had not been recorded before.
Patient treated in Lyon after midge bite
France’s health and agriculture ministries said on Thursday that the patient is thought to have caught Shav from a midge bite in eastern France, where animal cases were first identified in the spring. The person was being treated for a serious illness at a hospital in Lyon.
Doctors reported neurological complications that, based on initial findings, were ‘very likely linked’ to the virus. The ministries stressed that the patient’s weakened immune system made them more vulnerable to becoming ill.
European monitoring and wider spread of the virus
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it is monitoring the situation and working with French and European partners to examine the potential public health implications. Officials are still investigating how the virus reached a human.
Until now, the virus was considered non-transmissible to humans, a statement noted, having been found only in animals despite decades of circulation in Africa and Asia.
The first cases in Europe were identified in late July, and the virus has since been detected in farm animals in Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Jersey. The case has also been reported to the World Health Organization.
