LYON, France — Health officials in France have confirmed the first known human infection with Shamonda, a virus that until this year had only been documented in animals, mainly cattle.
The patient had a badly weakened immune system and was being treated for a serious illness at the Hospices Civils de Lyon hospital system. The patient died in early October. French officials said brain complications seen before the death were very likely tied to the virus, though investigators are still working to confirm its role.
Investigators believe the person was infected by the bite of a Culicoides midge in eastern France, where the virus had been spreading among animals in spring and summer. French authorities said they see no health risk to the general public based on what is known about the virus.
Shamonda was first found in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and had shown up sporadically in African cattle and in Japan. It reached Europe for the first time this summer. Since then it has been found on farms in a dozen European countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, plus the island of Jersey.
The ECDC, the EU disease agency, said it is tracking the case with French officials. The agency noted that biting midges are usually most active from spring through autumn and that their activity is now falling off as the weather cools.
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