French health authorities on Thursday announced the world’s first documented case of human infection with the Shamonda virus.

The patient died in early October. No health risk to the general population has been identified to date.

The Shamonda virus is transmitted to animals by biting midges of the genus Culicoides.

First detected in Nigeria in the mid-1960s, the virus has been sporadically reported in cattle in West, East and Southern Africa, as well as in Japan.

Despite circulating in Africa and Asia for several decades, no human infection had been officially documented until now.

According to the statement, the patient, who was severely immunocompromised, was receiving treatment in Lyon, France, for a serious illness.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the brain complications observed in the patient before death were very likely linked to the Shamonda virus infection.

At this stage, health authorities consider infection through the bite of a virus-carrying midge of the genus Culicoides in eastern France to be the most likely explanation.

The health authorities stressed that this was an exceptional case involving a severely immunocompromised patient.

They have also notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) of the case.

 (Xinhua/NAN)