The signs and science of the Shamonda virus, Pg17

Key Highlights:

• France confirmed the first known human case of Shamonda virus in a severely immunocompromised patient who died in Lyon in October.
• The virus, belonging to the Simbu group of Orthobunyaviruses, is primarily vector-borne and spread by Culicoides midges.
• First isolated in cattle in Nigeria in 1965, Shamonda virus mainly affects livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and alpacas.
• The patient is believed to have contracted the SHAV-EU1 variant through a midge bite in eastern France, where the virus was circulating in animals.
• The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) notes there is currently no commercially available vaccine and recommends vector control measures.

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Detailed Insights:

• French health and agriculture ministries stated that no health risk to the general public has been identified at this time, considering it an exceptional case.
• The patient, a leukaemia patient in their sixties, developed severe neurological symptoms including blindness and confusion before falling into a coma.
• Laboratory testing of cerebrospinal fluid and subsequent genome sequencing confirmed the presence of the SHAV-EU1 variant of Shamonda virus.
• In animals, symptoms include fever, diarrhoea, reduced milk production, and reproductive disorders, with neurological signs being less common.
• Outbreaks caused by the Simbu group of viruses tend to occur in cycles, influenced by the seasonal patterns of midges.
• Control and management strategies focus on physical barriers, reducing vector-breeding sites, vector surveillance, and transporting animals during low vector activity.
• The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), an intergovernmental organization founded in 1924, coordinates and promotes animal disease control globally.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Shamonda virus: A vector-borne RNA virus from the Simbu serogroup that primarily infects livestock and has now caused a documented human fatality.
• Orthobunyavirus: A genus of single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses within the family Peribunyaviridae, many of which are zoonotic and arthropod-borne.
• Culicoides midges: Small biting flies (genus Culicoides) that act as biological vectors, transmitting various diseases, including Shamonda virus, to animals and sometimes humans.
• Immunocompromised patient: An individual with a weakened immune system due to disease or medication, making them highly susceptible to infections and severe disease outcomes.