France reports first human case of livestock pathogen Shamonda virus

Editor’s note: Quotes from the French ministries' statement were translated from French.

A patient in France has died after the first documented human infection with Shamonda virus, a midge-borne livestock pathogen that has spread through European cattle herds since early summer, French health and agriculture officials said in a joint statement October 22.^1,4

The patient was severely immunocompromised and was being treated for a serious illness at Hospices Civils de Lyon when they died in early October, France's agriculture and health ministries said.¹ Investigators believe the patient was infected through the bite of a Culicoides midge in eastern France, where the virus was reported to be circulating in animals in spring and summer of this year.¹

"Shamonda virus had until now been considered non-transmissible to humans. The Shamonda virus infection in this patient therefore constitutes the first documented and reported detection of the virus in humans," the ministries said.¹

Before the patient died, they were experiencing brain complications that the ministries said were most likely linked to the Shamonda virus infection.¹

"Despite several decades of Shamonda virus circulation in Africa and Asia, no human case had been documented until now. This is therefore an exceptional case that occurred in a severely immunocompromised patient," the statement said.¹

The ministries emphasized that, based on current knowledge of the virus, no public health risk to the general population has been identified.

France notified the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.¹ WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said WHO is in contact with French authorities, who are collecting information on the source of the infection, possible routes of transmission, and any potential risk to public health.²

Clinical, biological, and epidemiological investigations are underway in collaboration with experts in human, animal, and environmental health, according to French officials.

Shamonda virus was first detected in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and has been reported sporadically in cattle in West, East, and Southern Africa and in Japan. It was identified in Europe for the first time this summer, including on French cattle farms. Cattle are the main hosts, and France also recorded sporadic cases in small ruminants and equids this summer.^1,3

Shamonda virus belongs to the Orthobunyavirus genus, which also includes Oropouche virus, an insect-borne pathogen present in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean that causes Oropouche fever in people. In a separate October 22 statement, France's agriculture ministry said the human Shamonda case shares similarities with Oropouche virus infection, which can cause neurological symptoms in some patients.⁴

References

1. Virus Shamonda : une première détection chez l'être humain. Ministère de l'Agriculture, de l'Agro-alimentaire et de la Souveraineté alimentaire; Ministère chargé de la Santé. News release. October 22, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://agriculture.gouv.fr/virus-shamonda-une-premiere-detection-chez-letre-humain
2. Ghebreyesus TA (@DrTedros). #France has reported the first documented case of a human infection with #Shamonda virus, a virus only previously detected in animals. X. October 22, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://x.com/DrTedros/status/2113256229656989737
3. Folk Z. French patient dies after contracting first known case of Shamonda virus in humans. Forbes. October 22, 2026. Updated October 22, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://agriculture.gouv.fr/virus-shamonda-une-premiere-detection-chez-letre-humain
4. Cas d’infections de vaches laitières par un orthobunyavirus. Ministère de l'Agriculture, de l'Agro-alimentaire et de la Souveraineté alimentaire; Ministère chargé de la Santé. News release. October 22, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://agriculture.gouv.fr/cas-dinfections-de-vaches-laitieres-par-un-orthobunyavirus