In addition to detections in cattle from Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Bavaria, the Saarland and Saxony, the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute (FLI) has now confirmed infections with the newly introduced European Shamonda virus (SHAV) in a horse from Rhineland-Palatinate and an alpaca from Hesse. SHAV has also been detected in samples from sheep and goats in Baden-Württemberg, which were kindly made available to the FLI for monitoring purposes.
The virus is continuing to spread amongst susceptible animals in Germany; however, due to the lack of mandatory reporting requirements, cases in Germany have not yet been precisely and standardisedly recorded. Consequently, the FLI is unable to produce distribution maps based on confirmed cases entered into the animal disease reporting system by the state veterinary authorities, as is usually the case with notifiable animal diseases.
The horse from Rhineland-Palatinate exhibited central nervous system disorders prior to its death. A high viral load was detected in a brain sample from the animal, suggesting a link to the clinical presentation. This clearly distinguishes SHAV from the related Schmallenberg virus (SBV), in which such disorders do not occur. However, neurological disorders in horses and cattle are known to occur following infection with the Shuni virus, which also belongs to the Simbu serogroup and includes SHAV and SBV.
Further investigations into the virus are necessary, particularly genomic analyses of additional positive samples, to determine the exact classification of SHAV, especially in the context of cases in other European countries.
Further information on the Shamonda virus is available from the FLI on the relevant topic page.
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