Shamonda Virus: First Reported Human Infection Linked to European Cattle Outbreak
The Shamonda virus outbreak was detected in European cattle in July and is ongoing.
Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty
A cancer patient in France has become the first person reported to have been infected with Shamonda virus, after outbreaks in livestock were identified in Europe in July. The man, who was in his 60s, died on October 9, 16 days after developing neurological symptoms including vision loss and confusion, according to a case report published this week in Eurosurveillance1. Infectious-disease researchers say little is known about the virus or how it affects humans.
How was the patient infected with Shamonda virus?
The man lived in a rural area in the Rhône-Alpes region, where Shamonda virus has been detected in cattle. According to the report, he probably contracted the infection after being bitten by a midge.
Other possible routes of infection include eating contaminated food or receiving a blood transfusion or transplant, although the report’s authors said these routes are unlikely. “An investigation is underway to eliminate them,” they wrote. Researchers say the risk of Shamonda virus transmission to humans is low.
What is Shamonda virus?
Shamonda virus belongs to a family of viruses called orthobunyaviruses. These viruses are known to infect animals such as cattle and deer and can be transmitted by mosquitoes and midges, said Crispin Hajkovic, an infectious-disease researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia.
According to Hajković, there is currently no vaccine or antiviral treatment for orthobunyaviruses.
Why are more orthobunyaviruses being detected in humans?
Daniel Rowle, a virologist at the QIMR Berghofer Institute for Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, says more orthobunyaviruses are being detected in people. Climate change and increased contact among wild animals, livestock and humans are factors that may increase the risk of infection.
A growing number of people are also immunocompromised, putting them at increased risk of infection and life-threatening symptoms. Human-to-human transmission of these viruses has not been recorded, although transmission between pregnant women and their fetuses was reported during the 2024 outbreak of the orthobunyavirus Oropouche in Brazil.
Severe neurological illness in an immunocompromised patient
The French patient had leukemia and was severely immunocompromised. He began having seizures shortly after his symptoms appeared, fell into a coma and required intubation and mechanical ventilation.
Treatment with antibiotics, antivirals and high-dose corticosteroids did not improve his condition. He was later removed from life support.
Source: www.nature.com