Shamonda virus: What is the risk to humans?

France has reported the first known human case of Shamonda virus in a patient who died, raising questions about the risks posed by a livestock virus that has reached Europe this year decades after first being detected in Nigeria.

The first documented patient was ‌being ⁠treated for a serious illness at a hospital in Lyon and had a severely weakened immune system.

The UN's World Health Organization said that based on current information and knowledge of the transmission of closely related viruses, this was an isolated human case and unlikely to lead to wider spread at this time.

French ⁠authorities suspect infection occurred through a midge bite in eastern France, where the virus circulated among livestock earlier this year.

They said the patient's brain complications were very likely linked to Shamonda, although investigations into the infection ⁠and death are continuing.

Shamonda is not a disease listed by the WOAH and countries are therefore not required to notify WOAH of cases under its disease-specific reporting ⁠obligations.

Nor is it listed under the European Union's Animal Health Law framework, meaning it is not subject to EU disease-specific mandatory surveillance.

Because of this, available data may not provide a complete picture of its spread.