Man dies in France from cattle virus once thought harmless to humans, and it’s already on Spanish farms

A severely ill man has died in France after becoming the first person known to catch Shamonda, a virus carried by biting midges that was thought unable to infect humans. It’s already turned up on Spanish cattle farms, though French authorities say the general public isn’t at risk.

A man with a severely weakened immune system has died

French health authorities announced on Thursday October 22 that a man being treated for a serious illness in Lyon died in early October after catching the Shamonda virus. It’s the first time anyone is known to have been infected.

The health ministry called it an exceptional case involving a severely immunocompromised patient. It added that the virus had been considered unable to infect humans, with no human cases recorded despite decades of circulation in parts of Africa and Asia. 

Investigators believe he was bitten by a Culicoides midge (a tiny biting insect) in eastern France, where the virus has been circulating among cattle. However, clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are still under way, so it’s not yet clear how big a part the virus played in his death.

Authorities say there’s no risk to the general public 

The health and agriculture ministries said no health risk to the general population has been identified, and further spread to people isn’t expected. France has also informed the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Shamonda is carried by midges, and there’s no evidence it passes directly from one animal to another.

The virus is already on farms in Spain

Spain isn’t a bystander though. A new European strain of the virus was first identified on July 31 on cattle farms in Germany and Switzerland, and it has since spread across much of western Europe, reaching 51 French provinces by September 29.

Spain’s Agriculture Ministry reported on Wednesday October 7 that the virus has been detected in cattle in Córdoba, Toledo, Ávila and Madrid, plus a farm in Cantabria where a second genetic variant of the virus was found for the first time in Spain.

In cattle it causes fever, diarrhoea and a drop in milk production, and it can lead to miscarriages or birth defects. No deaths directly caused by the virus have been seen so far.

What farmers are being asked to do

Spanish authorities say the situation remains under monitoring, and farmers should call their vet or official veterinary services as soon as animals show symptoms. French official guidance also tells farmers to cut down midge breeding sites such as standing water and liquid effluent, because there’s no vaccine or treatment.

The French investigation into the man’s death is still ongoing, and its findings are what officials in Spain and across Europe will be waiting for.