The patient, a French man in his 60s with leukemia, died earlier this month. Health officials say the risk to the public is low

October 26, 2026 3:25 p.m.

Shamonda is most commonly detected in cattle. Philippe Desmazes / AFP via Getty Images

The first known human case of the Shamonda virus was reported by French authorities this month. The patient, a man in his 60s who had leukemia, died on October 9, just 16 days after showing neurological symptoms, including blindness and confusion.

The incident was described in a report released on October 22 in the journal Eurosurveillance .

In a statement translated by Smithsonian magazine, French health officials called it an exceptional case in a severely immunocompromised patient. They stressed that there is no risk to the public based on what is known about the Shamonda virus, which typically infects livestock.…