WHO comments on the first human death from the Shamonda virus

The World Health Organization (WHO) is in contact with the authorities of France, where a patient infected with the Shamonda virus died in a hospital. Further research into the transmission of this virus is needed, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated.

"France has reported the first documented case of human infection with the Shamonda virus, which had previously been detected only in animals," Ghebreyesus wrote on X. "WHO is in contact with the French authorities, who are gathering information to better understand the source of the infection in the first human patient, the possible routes of its transmission, and also to assess the potential risks to public health," he noted. "Further research is needed for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of transmission of the infection," the WHO director-general emphasized.

Ghebreyesus expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

The head of WHO drew attention to the fact that the Shamonda virus "primarily affects animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and horses." It is assumed that among animals "the virus spreads through the bites of biting midges — small insects resembling flies," he recalled, adding that the patient who died had a weakened immune system, which made him more vulnerable to infection and a severe course of the disease. The patient "was in a region where the Shamonda virus circulated among animals and where midges of the genus Culicoides were present."

The French authorities earlier reported the first case in history of human infection with the Shamonda virus; the patient died in a hospital in early October. According to the authorities, the virus does not currently pose a threat to public health.