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France records first human case of Shamonda, a midge-borne livestock virus

By CAShorts DeskPublished Sources: The Hindu (AFP); joint statement of France's Health and Agriculture Ministries; AGES (Austria); UK APHA; WHO; WOAH

France records first human case of Shamonda, a midge-borne livestock virus
Illustration (AI-generated)

France's Health and Agriculture Ministries said on 22 October 2026 that Shamonda virus, usually a livestock infection, was found in a human for the first time. The severely immunocompromised patient died earlier in October, probably after a midge bite in eastern France. The ministries identified no risk to the general public, and the WHO and the ECDC have been notified.

Syllabus: Prelims · Science & Technology; GS3 · Science & Technology; GS2 · Health, Education & Human Resources

Why this matters for UPSC

GS3 science and GS2 health: Prelims can ask about the Orthobunyavirus genus, the Simbu serogroup, Culicoides midges and the International Health Regulations (2005); Mains, about zoonoses and One Health surveillance.

Why it matters

For most people in Europe the immediate risk is small: the one patient was already gravely ill, and the authorities found no danger to the public. Farmers carry the larger burden now. A sick dairy herd gives less milk, and an infection during pregnancy can end in an aborted or deformed calf or lamb, with no vaccine to prevent it. Because tiny biting midges carry the virus, fences and movement controls cannot stop it the way they stop diseases spread by contact. The case also shows how an animal virus, watched only by vets, can surprise doctors. That is the larger lesson of One Health: animal, human and environmental surveillance have to talk to each other.

Prelims pointers

  • Simbu serogroup: Schmallenberg, Akabane, Aino and Shamonda viruses; infection in pregnancy can cause congenital defects, premature births and fertility problems in livestock.
  • Culicoides biting midges also transmit bluetongue virus and Schmallenberg virus; insect repellents only partly reduce the risk of infection.
  • Shamonda virus genome: single-stranded RNA; infected animals get no curative treatment, only symptomatic relief such as fever-reducing drugs.
  • International Health Regulations (2005): WHO determines whether an event is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), with advice from external experts.
  • World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH): founded in 1924 as the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) in response to rinderpest; headquartered in Paris.
  • WOAH adopted its present common name, World Organisation for Animal Health, in May 2003.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to Shamonda virus, recently in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It was first detected in Brazil in the 1960s and has since been reported in cattle in South America.

2. It belongs to the genus Orthobunyavirus and reaches animals mainly through bites of small insects such as midges.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (b) 2 only

Answer: (b) 2 only. Only the statement on its genus and insect vector holds.

Statement 1: incorrect. The virus was first detected in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and has been reported in cattle in Africa and Japan.

Statement 2: correct. It is an Orthobunyavirus carried to animals by small biting insects, Culicoides midges.

Eliminate: Statement 2 is the surer: the Orthobunyavirus genus and midge vector are standard. Out: (a), (d).

Eliminate: Statement 1 places the first detection on the wrong continent. Out: (c).

Trap: Swapped attribution. The first detection is moved from Nigeria to Brazil, a country also known for insect-borne viruses.

Remember: Shamonda virus: Orthobunyavirus, midge-borne, first found in Nigeria.

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