A man dies in France with the shamonda virus, which until now was believed not to be transmissible to humans

A man with severe immunosuppression who died at the beginning of October in Lyon, in the southeast of France, was infected by the shamonda virus, known to affect livestock, but whose transmission to humans had not been confirmed until now, as announced this Thursday by the French Government.

In a joint statement, the ministries of Health and Agriculture indicated that, with the knowledge available about this virus, "no health risk for the general population has been identified for now."

The patient, whose age and identity have not been revealed, was admitted to the Civil Hospices of Lyon due to a serious pathology. The French authorities have launched clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations involving specialists in human, animal and environmental health.

Experts analyzing the case consider that the brain complications the man developed are "most likely linked to infection with the shamonda virus," first identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s.

"An exceptional case"

This virus is mainly transmitted to cattle through mosquitoes of the genus Culicoides. During last summer it was detected for the first time in several parts of Europe, including France.

This patient's infection constitutes the first documented case of the presence of shamonda virus in a human being. The French authorities are considering the hypothesis that the contagion occurred through the bite of a mosquito in the east of the country, an area where the circulation of the virus had been confirmed during the spring and summer.

In any case, they consider that this is "an exceptional case" in a person with a severely weakened immune system.