Reacción a "The first case of human infection with the Shamonda virus has been identified in a patient with pre-existing conditions who died in France"

The main hosts of the Shamonda virus are ruminants, and it is transmitted by Culicoides midges, as is the case with bluetongue. It was confirmed in Europe this summer. It is a vector-borne disease; in other words, it is not contagious between animals, but animals become infected via Culicoides midges. In animals, it causes symptoms that are not particularly severe, but it does have an economic impact because it leads to a temporary period of diarrhoea and other mild disturbances which also reduce the animals’ [livestock] production whilst the condition persists. Until now, there had been no reported cases of transmission to humans.

At present, it is known that the affected person had the virus, and it remains to be seen whether the virus has worsened their prognosis. The health authorities are already investigating this. They will probably need to carry out a retrospective study to determine, through serological testing, how many people may be subclinically infected with the virus, without showing any symptoms.

At the moment, I believe there is absolutely no cause for alarm and that the immediate challenge is to strengthen integrated surveillance amongst doctors, vets, biologists and entomologists using a One Health approach.

In the general population, precautions should always be taken against vector-borne diseases. Obviously, if you are going out to a place where there are mosquitoes, you should apply insect repellent, keep your skin covered and avoid the times of day when mosquitoes are most active. You should keep an eye on yourself if you are in an environment where there are vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks, and, if you experience any symptoms after a bite, go and explain to your GP what has happened, so that they can investigate and diagnose you correctly. In this regard, I believe the media play a vital role in raising public health awareness.