France reports first human case of livestock virus Shamonda after patient dies

• France reported its first human Shamonda virus case after a man in his 60s died, but officials said there is “no risk” to the general public.
• The patient likely caught the livestock virus from a midge in eastern France, where it spread among animals this spring and summer, according to the French government.
• WHO says it is in contact with France, while Shamonda has now been found in several European countries and can cut dairy farm milk output by up to 75%.

PARIS – France on Oct 22 reported the first human case of the Shamonda virus usually found in livestock in a patient who later died, with the authorities adding there was no risk to the general population at this stage.

It is suspected that the victim was bitten by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France where it had circulated among animals this spring and summer, the French government said in a statement.

The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) said it was in contact with the French authorities about the outbreak.

The patient died in early October and had been receiving treatment for a serious illness that made them more susceptible to infection than the general population, the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a statement.

The victim was a man in 60s living in the Lyon area, local French newspaper Le Progres reported.

“Based on current information and knowledge of the transmission of closely related viruses, this is an isolated human case and it is unlikely to lead to wider spread at this time,” said the Geneva-based WHO, which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies.

The French government also said no health risk to the general population had been identified.

Virus spreading in animals in Europe

Shamonda is transmitted by biting midges and most commonly found in cattle, though it has also been found in horses, alpaca, sheep and goats, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

It is not classified as a disease under the EU Animal Health Law and not subject to official surveillance or control measures.

Identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s, Shamonda was first confirmed in Europe in late July after genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.

France’s weekly animal health surveillance bulletin said the virus had also been detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and UK’s Jersey.

The virus has several effects on animals, with affected cattle showing diarrhoea, weakness, loss of appetite and, less often, fever, the French animal health authorities said.

A study of French nine dairy farms found milk output fell by up to 75%. REUTERS