France reports first human Shamonda virus infection following farm animal detection

France reported the first known human infection with the Shamonda virus on October 22, 2026, involving a severely immunocompromised patient who died in early October at the Hospices Civils de Lyon.

French authorities suspect the patient was infected by a Culicoides midge bite in eastern France, while the virus has previously circulated primarily among farm animals across 12 European countries and Jersey.

Both French authorities and the World Health Organization stated that no public health risk to the general population has been identified and a wider spread is currently unlikely.