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France has detected the Shamonda virus, known for circulating among livestock, for the first time in a human being: a severely immunocompromised patient who passed away in early October.
This virus, belonging to the Orthobunyavirus family, has been circulating for decades in Africa and Asia and was until now considered non-transmissible to humans.
This first detection in a human corresponds to "an exceptional case occurring in a severely immunocompromised patient," treated in Lyon for a serious illness and who "died at the beginning of October," according to a statement from the French ministries of Health and Agriculture.
According to information published by the local newspaper Le Progrès, which authorities have not confirmed, the patient was a "man in his 60s who lived in the Ain department," in the center of the country.
Regarding transmission, the hypothesis proposed is the bite of an insect of the Culicoides genus in eastern France, an area where the circulation of the virus among animals was observed during the spring and summer of 2026.
The exact circumstances under which the infection occurred are still unknown, as is whether it took place on a farm.
It is also unknown if any potential contacts of the patient were identified.
- Ongoing investigations -
According to investigations carried out so far, "the brain complications observed in the immunocompromised patient before his death are likely related to the Shamonda virus infection," the authorities specified.
This case "presents similarities with other cases of Orthobunyavirus infections in humans, such as the Oropouche virus—in which neurological conditions were described—especially in immunocompromised patients. However, this is the first documented detection of the Shamonda virus in a human being," notes the Ministry of Agriculture's website.
"To date, there is no scientific data available to document the transmission of the Shamonda virus through the consumption of meat, milk, or derived products," according to the same source, which adds that "products from sick animals are always excluded from consumption."
Beyond this particular case, and "taking into account the available knowledge about this virus," authorities consider that, "for the moment," there is no identified health risk to the general population.
According to the French government, the case was also reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
- Present in Europe since the summer -
Transmitted to animals by biting midges of the Culicoides genus, the Shamonda virus was first detected in Nigeria in the mid-1960s.
Since then, it has been recorded sporadically in cattle in West, East, and Southern Africa, as well as in Japan. This summer, it was identified for the first time in Europe, including France, in cattle farms.
Since then, it has spread rapidly throughout Europe. According to the latest weekly bulletin from the ESA (Animal Health Epidemiology and Surveillance) platform, which gathers French and European data, 14 Western European countries are affected.
In France, the virus circulates in 52 departments among cattle and, to a lesser extent, among sheep in two departments and horses in one department, according to the same source.
In the case of the Shamonda virus, cattle are considered the main hosts among the animal species that can be infected. This summer, sporadic cases of infection were also identified in small ruminants and equines in France.
Although zoonoses—infectious diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans—have existed for thousands of years, they have multiplied over the last few decades.
Since the 1940s, approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases affecting humans have originated in animals.
Population growth and globalization facilitate the movement of pathogens. At the same time, deforestation and urbanization encourage contact between animals and humans, which contributes to the transmission of diseases.
[Publicidad]