EXPLAINER: What is the Shamonda virus?

France recently reported its first case of the Shamonda virus, with the patient reportedly dying; authorities are still determining if the virus caused the death.

But what is the Shamonda virus?

According to GMA News Feed, the first case of the Shamonda virus infecting a human was reported in France on October 22.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the patient died earlier in October while being treated for a “serious illness,” which made the patient more vulnerable to the virus.

French authorities suspect that the patient was bitten by a midge that carried the virus in the eastern part of the country.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said that the Shamonda virus reportedly affected cattle more often, but there have also been cases where sheep, goats, horses and alpacas were infected.

The Shamonda virus is vector-borne and is transmitted through midge bites.

While there is currently no evidence of animal-to-animal transmission of the virus, WOAH says that vertical transmission, or transmission from a parent to the embryo, fetus or newborn, has been reported.

The Shamonda virus belongs to the Simbu serogroup. Other members of the group include the Schmallenberg virus, a virus that can cause reproductive disorders in livestock.

It was first identified in Nigerian cattle in 1965, according to the WOAH. Since then, the virus has also been reported in other regions of Africa and Asia.

European cases of the virus were first identified in July 2026.

Signs of the Shamonda virus in animals include fever, diarrhea, reduced milk production, reproductive disorders such as abortions and fetal malformation. Less commonly, there can be neurological disorders, which have been reported in horses.

The WOAH said that the Shamonda virus has not infected humans historically,

The World Health Organization said that the case in France is likely isolated and is unlikely to spread.

“The general public, fit, well people, have very little to worry about from Shamonda. It's primarily an animal pathogen… The disease is fairly consequential in the animals that get infected and will cause economic problems for any farmer or farms, etc., that are affected by the virus. But human populations certainly, at the moment, from everything we know, have very little to worry about,” said Senior Lecturer in Virology Ben Brennan of Glasgow University said. —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News