France reports first human case of livestock virus Shamonda after patient dies

Mohamad Salaheldin Abdelg Alsayed/Anadolu/Getty Images/File

France on Thursday reported the first human case of the Shamonda virus usually found in livestock in a patient who later died, with authorities adding there was no risk to the general population at this stage.

It is suspected that the victim was bitten by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France where it had circulated among animals this spring and summer, the government said in a statement.

The Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it was monitoring the situation.

“ECDC is in contact with the French authorities and European partners to investigate the potential public health implications,” it said in a statement.

The patient died in early October and had been receiving treatment for a serious illness that made them more susceptible to infection than the general population, the ECDC said.

“Investigations into whether the virus caused or contributed to the patient’s death and how the infection was acquired are ongoing,” it said.

The victim was a man in 60s living in the Lyon area in eastern France, local newspaper Le Progres reported. “Based on the knowledge available regarding this virus, no health risk to the general population has been identified to date,” the government said.

Shamonda is transmitted by biting midges and most commonly found in cattle, though it has also been found in horses, alpaca, sheep and goats, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

It is not classified as a disease under the EU Animal Health Law and not subject to official surveillance or control measures.

Identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s, Shamonda was first confirmed in Europe in late July after genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.

France’s weekly animal health surveillance bulletin said the virus had also been detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK’s Jersey.

The virus has several effects on animals. A study of nine French dairy farms found milk production fell by up to 75%, with affected cattle showing diarrhoea, weakness, loss of appetite and, less often, fever, French animal health authorities said.

穆罕默德·萨拉赫丁·阿卜杜勒格·阿尔赛义德/阿纳多卢/盖蒂图片社/文件

法国周四报告了首例人类感染沙蒙达病毒的病例，该病毒通常存在于牲畜中，患者随后死亡。当局补充说，目前阶段对普通人群没有风险。

政府在一份声明中表示，据推测，受害者是在法国东部被携带病毒的蠓虫叮咬的，该病毒在今年春夏两季已在法国东部的动物中传播。

总部位于斯德哥尔摩的欧洲疾病预防控制中心表示，他们正在密切关注事态发展。

欧洲疾病预防控制中心在一份声明中表示：“我们正在与法国当局和欧洲合作伙伴联系，调查可能对公共卫生造成的影响。”

欧洲疾病预防控制中心表示，该患者于 10 月初去世，生前患有严重疾病，因此比普通人群更容易受到感染。

声明称：“目前仍在调查该病毒是否直接导致或促成了患者的死亡，以及感染是如何发生的。”

据法国东部里昂地区当地报纸《进步报》报道，死者是一名60多岁的男子。政府表示：“根据目前对该病毒的了解，迄今为止尚未发现对普通人群构成健康风险。”

据世界动物卫生组织（WOAH）称，沙蒙达病是由蠓虫叮咬传播的，最常见于牛，但也曾在马、羊驼、绵羊和山羊身上发现过。

根据欧盟动物健康法，它不属于疾病范畴，因此不受官方监测或控制措施的约束。

沙蒙达病于 20 世纪 60 年代中期在尼日利亚被发现，7 月下旬，在对德国南部、瑞士和法国东部的病牛进行基因组测试后，首次在欧洲得到确认。

法国每周发布的动物健康监测公报称，奥地利、比利时、爱尔兰、意大利、列支敦士登、卢森堡、荷兰、葡萄牙、斯洛文尼亚、西班牙和英国泽西岛也发现了该病毒。

该病毒对动物有多种影响。法国动物卫生部门表示，一项针对法国九家奶牛场的研究发现，牛奶产量下降了高达75%，受感染的牛出现腹泻、虚弱、食欲不振等症状，发烧的情况较少见。