France Reports World's First Human Infection with Shamonda Virus in Deceased Lyon Patient

Key facts

• French authorities confirmed the first documented human case of the Shamonda virus, previously found only in animals, in a severely immunocompromised patient treated at the Hospices Civils de Lyon who died in early October 2026.
• The Shamonda virus is transmitted by biting midges of the Culicoides species and mainly affects cattle, with symptoms including fever, lethargy and diarrhoea, and reduced milk production in dairy cows.
• French authorities believe the patient was infected through a midge bite in eastern France, and brain complications before death were very likely linked to the virus, though investigations with the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are ongoing.
• The Shamonda virus was first detected in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and has since been reported sporadically in cattle in West, East and southern Africa and in Japan.
• In summer 2026, the virus was detected for the first time in Western Europe, with cases in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Jersey island.
• Authorities stated that no health risk to the general population has been identified to date.