France Reports 1st Human Case of Virus Previously Only Found in Animals

Cows eat at a farm in Mesnil-Aubert, western France on Feb. 25, 2010. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

France on Oct. 22 disclosed the first known human case of Shamonda virus, a virus previously only found in animals.

The male patient, who had a severely suppressed immune system, died in early October, France’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture said in a joint statement.

Investigations are still ongoing, including into how the man contracted the virus. The virus is believed at this stage of the investigation to have spread to the patient through the bite of a midge, a type of fly, in an area of France that reported circulation of the virus among animals earlier in the year.

The brain-related complications the patient suffered before his death were likely linked to the infection, authorities said.

“Based on current knowledge about this virus, no health risk to the general population has been identified to date,” French authorities said.

Shamonda virus was first identified in cattle in Nigeria in 1965 and has since been found in other parts of the world. The virus is transmitted by midges to animals such as cattle and goats.

French authorities notified international organizations, including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

That agency said in a statement that the human infection followed the first detection of the virus in farm animals in Europe, including in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. As temperatures cool, midge activity has been declining in Europe, it also said.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X the organization is working with French authorities “to better understand the source of infection in the first human patient, possible routes of transmission and any potential risk to public health.”