France reports first known human Shamonda virus infection
Authorities announced the case on October 22. The patient, who had a severely weakened immune system and was undergoing treatment for a serious illness, was admitted to hospital in Lyon and died in early October, according to France’s Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Sovereignty. Health officials described neurological complications before his death as very likely associated with the infection. Investigators suspect he contracted the virus through a midge bite in eastern France and are continuing their inquiry.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Shamonda affects livestock including cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Scientists first isolated it in Nigerian cattle in 1965, and subsequent animal infections have been recorded elsewhere in Africa and in Japan. The virus is closely related to Schmallenberg, which can cause birth defects and stillbirths in some animals. Amesh A. Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said infected midges are thought to transmit Shamonda through their bites. The WHO says direct animal-to-animal transmission is not known to occur apart from transmission from an infected pregnant animal to its fetus.
Researchers recorded Shamonda’s emergence among European cattle in 2026. An early-release paper in Emerging Infectious Diseases, intended for the journal’s December issue, describes disease affecting dairy herds in southern Germany and Switzerland from June. Affected animals had fever and diarrhoea, alongside lower milk output. The WHO says detections in western Europe have involved dairy cattle and horses, with Austria, Belgium and France among the countries concerned.
Food-safety specialists say evidence does not currently support transmission to people through food. Wade Syers, a food-safety extension specialist at Michigan State University, said researchers have not established a history of foodborne infections in humans despite the virus’s decades of circulation among animals. He said there is no current evidence of transmission through meat or dairy foods, including milk and cheese, and identified insect bites as the usual transmission route. Darin Detwiler, a Northeastern University professor and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions, called for further investigation of the French infection.
Detwiler said the available evidence provides no scientific basis for consumers to alter food purchasing, preparation or consumption specifically because of Shamonda. He nevertheless advised continuing established food-safety measures: selecting pasteurised dairy foods, heating meat to recommended temperatures, avoiding cross-contamination and refrigerating food properly. These measures protect against recognised foodborne pathogens, he said. Syers also advised consumers to maintain their usual food-safety practices.
France and neighbouring countries are investigating possible additional human infections while maintaining surveillance of livestock. Adalja said studies would examine farmers, veterinarians and other people near the location of the French case for antibodies indicating previous infection. He also said Germany was conducting a blood-bank study to check donations for evidence of infection. Detwiler said the developments in Europe and the human case warranted scientific attention.
Shamonda has not been detected in people or livestock in the United States. Experts interviewed said there was no evidence of an outbreak affecting American livestock or the domestic dairy supply, and advised American consumers that they did not need to alter their eating or shopping habits because of the French case.
