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France reports first human case of Shamonda virus after patient dies
NBC News • • health
Key Points:
- France reported its first human case of the Shamonda virus, typically found in livestock, in a hospital patient in Lyon who died; authorities stated there is no risk to the general population.
- The victim, in his 60s with a severely weakened immune system, was likely bitten by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France where the virus circulated among animals during spring and summer.
- The World Health Organization considers this an isolated case unlikely to cause wider spread and is monitoring the situation in coordination with French authorities.
- Shamonda virus is transmitted by biting midges and primarily affects cattle and other livestock, with no evidence of cattle-to-human or human-to-human transmission to date.
- The virus, first identified in Nigeria in the 1960s, has recently spread in several European countries, causing symptoms in animals such as diarrhea and reduced milk production, but it is not subject to official EU surveillance or control.
