French health authorities report the first documented human infection with Shamonda virus, a livestock pathogen previously unknown in people. The patient, who was severely immunocompromised, died in early October. Officials say the risk to the general public remains very low.
French authorities confirmed on Thursday the world’s first known human case of Shamonda virus, a pathogen that until now had only been detected in animals. The patient, a man in his 60s living in the Lyon area, died in early October after developing neurological complications that investigators believe were linked to the infection.
The man had been receiving treatment for a serious underlying illness at the Hospices Civils de Lyon and was severely immunocompromised. Health officials said the infection was “exceptional” and that there is currently no identified health risk to the general population.
Shamonda virus is an orthobunyavirus transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides. It was first identified in cattle in Nigeria in the 1960s and has since been reported sporadically in livestock across parts of Africa and Japan. In animals it can cause fever, diarrhoea, reduced milk production, abortions and congenital abnormalities.
The virus appeared in Europe for the first time this summer, circulating in cattle, sheep, goats and horses in France and at least a dozen other Western European countries. French authorities believe the patient was bitten by an infected midge in eastern France, where the virus has been active in livestock since spring and summer 2026.
“This is the first documented and reported detection of the virus in a human,” French agriculture and health ministries said in a joint statement. They added that brain complications observed before the patient’s death were “very likely linked” to the Shamonda infection, though investigations into the exact role of the virus and the precise mode of transmission are continuing.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization are monitoring the situation. Experts have stressed that transmission to humans appears extremely rare. Professor Tom Solomon, director of the Pandemic Institute at the University of Liverpool, noted that the virus has circulated in animals for decades without previously infecting people, suggesting the risk to the wider public is very low.
No further human cases have been reported. French authorities are continuing surveillance of livestock and vector populations while advising the public that there is no need for additional protective measures beyond standard insect-bite prevention in affected areas.
The case marks a rare jump of an animal virus into a human host and will be closely watched by zoonotic disease specialists as Europe heads into cooler months that usually reduce midge activity.
