Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
France has reported a first. A person was infected with a virus called Shamonda. Before this, doctors did not think people could catch it.
The virus usually infects cows. Small biting insects called midges spread it. The person was very sick and lived in Lyon. The person died in early October.
Doctors do not know yet if the virus caused the death. French health leaders say there is no danger for the public now. They told world health groups.
- virus
- A tiny germ that makes people or animals sick.
- infect
- To make someone sick with a germ.
- cattle
- Cows and bulls.
- midge
- A very small biting fly.
- patient
- A person getting medical care.
- public
- All the people.
- danger
- A chance of harm.
- report
- To tell officials or news.
Level 2 - Elementary
On October 22, France reported the first known human infection with Shamonda virus. The patient was severely ill with a weakened immune system, was being treated in Lyon, and died in early October.
Shamonda is a livestock virus, mostly found in cattle. It was first found in Nigeria in the 1960s and has been seen in cattle in parts of Africa and in Japan. In Europe it was confirmed in late July in Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.
Experts have not confirmed that the virus caused the death. They think the person may have been bitten by an infected midge in eastern France. French authorities say there is no public health risk for now. They have told the World Health Organization and the European disease agency.
- immune system
- The body's defense against germs.
- livestock
- Farm animals.
- confirm
- To prove something is true.
- infection
- Sickness caused by a germ.
- authority
- An official group.
- risk
- A chance of something bad.
- severely
- Very badly.
- genomic
- About the genes of a living thing.
Level 3 - Intermediate
French authorities announced on October 22 the first documented human case of Shamonda virus, a pathogen long considered incapable of infecting people. The patient, who was severely immunocompromised and receiving treatment in Lyon for a serious illness, died in early October, though investigators have not established that the virus was responsible.
Shamonda is transmitted by biting midges and mainly affects cattle. First detected in Nigeria in the mid 1960s, it has surfaced sporadically in West, East and Southern Africa and in Japan, and was confirmed in Europe only in late July, after genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.
The leading hypothesis is that the patient was bitten by an infected midge in eastern France, where the virus circulated among animals this spring and summer. Health officials stress that no risk to the general population has been identified so far, and France has notified the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control while the inquiry continues.
- pathogen
- A germ that causes disease.
- immunocompromised
- Having a weakened immune system.
- transmit
- To pass from one host to another.
- sporadically
- Occasionally, with no regular pattern.
- hypothesis
- A proposed explanation.
- circulate
- To spread within a group.
- notify
- To officially inform.
- inquiry
- An investigation.
Level 4 - Advanced
France disclosed on October 22 what it described as the first documented human infection with Shamonda virus, a livestock pathogen hitherto regarded as incapable of crossing into people. The patient, severely immunocompromised and under treatment for a grave illness in Lyon, died in early October, although investigators have stopped short of attributing the death to the virus.
Spread by biting midges and principally a disease of cattle, Shamonda was first identified in Nigeria in the mid 1960s and has appeared intermittently across West, East and Southern Africa and in Japan. Its arrival in Europe was confirmed only in late July, when genomic analysis of ailing cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France revealed its presence.
The prevailing theory holds that the patient was bitten by an infected midge in eastern France, where the virus moved through herds during spring and summer. Authorities emphasise that no danger to the wider population has been detected and have alerted the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, even as scientists weigh whether a vulnerable host simply exposed a latent capacity of the virus to infect humans.
- hitherto
- Until now.
- grave
- Very serious.
- attribute
- To say something is caused by.
- intermittently
- At irregular intervals.
- ailing
- Sick or weak.
- prevailing
- Most widely accepted.
- latent
- Present but not yet visible.
- host
- An organism that carries a germ.
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