First human case of Shamonda virus detected in France, officials say

ByMaia Davies and Michelle Roberts, digital health editor.

Key points

• The first known human case of the Shamonda virus (Shav) has been detected in a patient who died in early October, French authorities have remarked.
• The ECDC remarked it was working with French and European partners to investigate the "potential public health implications" of the infection.
• Dairy herds that catch Shav from bites can experience fever, diarrhoea and poor milk production.
• The first cases of the virus in Europe were identified in late July, the agency remarked.
• Health authorities stated it was an "exceptional case in a severely immunocompromised patient" and there was at present no risk to the public.

Meanwhile, the first known human case of the Shamonda virus (Shav) has been detected in a patient who died in early October, French authorities have remarked.

Shav is a disease that primarily affects cattle and can be spread by infected midges. Cases have additionally occurred in sheep, goats, alpacas and horses, but infections in residents were previously unheard of.

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) remarked it was monitoring the situation and office-holders were still investigating how the virus had spread to a human.

It is at present thought the patient contracted Shav through a midge bite in eastern France, the country's health and agriculture ministries stated on Thursday, where cases were first identified in animals in the spring.

They remarked the patient was being treated for a serious illness in a Lyon hospital and experienced neurological complications thought to have been "very likely linked" to the virus, based on initial findings.

For context, the statement stressed that their immune system was weakened, leaving them more vulnerable to getting ill.

"Until now, the Shamonda virus was considered non-transmissible to humans, " it observed, having only been identified in animals "despite decades of circulation of the Shamonda virus in Africa and Asia".

For context, the ECDC remarked it was working with French and European partners to investigate the "potential public health implications" of the infection.

In practice, the first cases of the virus in Europe were identified in late July, the agency remarked. As well as in Jersey, it has since been detected in farm animals in a number of countries, including Ireland, Germany, Italy and Spain. The case has additionally been noted to the World Health Organization.

In short, first human case of Shamonda virus detected in France, officials say is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.