France reports first known human case of Shamonda virus in patient who died

French authorities said on Thursday that the Shamonda virus, which usually affects livestock, has been detected in a human for the first time, in a severely immunocompromised patient who died in early October. The health and agriculture ministries said in a joint statement that no health risk to the general public had been identified. They described it as an exceptional case. The patient was being treated for a serious illness in a Lyon hospital and had neurological complications that initial findings suggested were very likely linked to the virus. The patient is believed to have been bitten by a midge in eastern France, where animal cases were first found in the spring. The virus had circulated in Africa and Asia for decades without a known human infection. The WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said they were monitoring the situation, and French officials are still investigating how the virus reached a human.

Alternative and independent outlets (BBC News, France 24) lead with the first-case finding and the ministries' statement. They add detail on midge transmission, the animals affected, and the WHO, ECDC and WOAH. Left-leaning CNN also leads with the first case and the no-risk assurance. Right-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing; left-leaning and alternative outlets had.