What is Shamonda virus? How is it transmitted? ECDC monitoring situation as France reports first, rare human case | Today’s news
On Thursday, health authorities in France said the Shamonda virus had been detected in a human for the first time. The rare case was detected in a severely immunocompromised patient who died earlier in October, AFP reported.
France detects first human case of Shamonda virus
The ministries of health and agriculture assured that “no health risk to the general public” was identified in the joint statement. He added that the human infection appears to be an “exceptional case involving a patient with a severely compromised immune system” who was hospitalized for a serious medical condition.
“Despite the fact that the Shamonda virus has been circulating in Africa and Asia for several decades, it has never been detected in humans before,” the ministry said, citing the agency.
Read also | Anthropic says Claude was asked to boost the virus to make it “more harmful”
What is Shamonda virus
Shamonda virus typically affects farm animals, especially cattle. It belongs to the orthobunyavirus group, the same group of viruses as Schmallenberg virus (SBV).
While the disease has reportedly been seen mainly in cattle, it can also be found in sheep, goats, alpacas and horses across European countries.
How can the Shamonda virus be transmitted?
Shamonda virus is usually transmitted to animals through small biting insects. According to authorities, it was first detected in Europe this summer.
The patient reportedly contracted the virus through a mosquito bite in eastern France, where the virus circulated in animals during the spring and summer, the ministry said.
“Neurological complications observed in an immunocompromised patient before his death are very likely associated with Shamonda virus infection,” authorities said based on preliminary findings.
“However, clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are still ongoing,” they added.
Symptoms of Shamonda virus
Symptoms of the Shamonda virus can include fever, diarrhoea, tiredness and reduced milk production, according to the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency.
But the virus is said not to be fatal for cattle, the Independent reported with reference to the British Agriculture Bureau.
History of livestock virus in Europe
Shamonda virus was first identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s. Since then, the virus has been detected in animals in Africa and Japan. However, it is now spreading to several European countries this year.
Despite its previous spread in Africa and Asia, the virus has now only appeared in Europe in the summer. For the uninitiated, no human cases of the Shamonda virus have been documented in France so far in the entire world.
