Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 23: France has reported the first documented human infection with Shamonda virus after a patient died at a hospital in Lyon earlier this month. Authorities said the case involved a severely immuno-compromised patient and that no risk to the general public had been identified at the time of the announcement.
Notably, Shamonda virus belongs to the Orthobunyavirus genus and is primarily known to infect animals. These include cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Interestingly, it was first identified in cattle in Nigeria in 1965 and is believed to spread through bites from Culicoids, midges, small fly-like insects.
Moreover, the French authorities said investigations into the case were continuing. The patient, who had leukaemia, reportedly developed vision loss and confusion before falling into a coma. Doctors detected generic traces of the virus in cerebrospinal fluid. Subsequent analysis of brain samples identified the SHAV-EU1 variant.
The World Health Organization is working with French authorities to investigate the source of infection, possible transmission routes and potential public health implications. Researchers have yet to establish how the virus infects the patients.
There is currently no commercially available vaccine against the Shamonda virus. This is as per the World Organisation for Animal Health. Control measures focus on monitoring and reducing exposure to the midges that transmit the virus among animals.
Further, the case has drawn attention to zoonotic infections, which occur when pathogens pass from animals to humans. Authorities also say that further investigation is needed to understand the risks associated with this first reported human case.
