France has reported the first ever human case of Shamonda virus, a disease that had so far only affected animals, in a patient that died in early October.

The patient was severely immunocompromized and had been receiving treatment for a serious illness that made them more susceptible to infection and complications, the country’s agriculture, food and health authorities said Thursday.

Brain complications observed in the patient before their death “would most likely be linked to the infection with the Shamonda virus,” the authorities said.

They added that this is “an exceptional case in a highly immunocompromized patient,” and that there is “no health risk for the general population.”

Health authorities have highlighted the potential of zoonotic spillover — or the jump of diseases from animals to humans — being behind the next pandemic. Currently, over 60% of emerging infectious disease threats are of zoonotic origin, including Covid-19 and Ebola. As diseases adapt and jump from wild animals to pets to humans, their potential for pandemic threats evolves too. For this reason, scientists have been on high alert for the bird flu.

The Shamonda virus, which spreads between animals through bites from infected midges, was detected in European farm animals for the first time this year. It had previously been found only in countries outside Europe, predominantly in Africa. It is mainly observed in cattle, but there have been cases of infections in horses, sheep, goats and an alpaca.

Since the summer, the virus has been detected in farm animals in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said. In cattle, its symptoms include fever, diarrhea, lethargy, reduced milk production and mild respiratory signs.

It’s still not clear whether  the virus caused or contributed to the patient’s death and how the infection was acquired, the ECDC said. French authorities said they believe the patient might have been infected by a midge bite while in eastern France, an area where the virus has been circulating in animals since the spring.

The ECDC said it is “carefully monitoring the situation” and is in touch with French authorities and European partners to “investigate the potential public health implications of this first human infection.”

Nigeria has become the fifth country to detect the rapidly-spreading Ebola strain, with its first confirmed case in a woman who traveled from Uganda.

The patient started showing symptoms on Oct. 7, four days after her arrival in the Western African country. She was later admitted to a private hospital in the capital Abuja, where laboratory testing confirmed the Ebola diagnosis, the country’s health minister and the World Health Organization said Tuesday. She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.

Nigeria’s health ministry and disease agency are working with the WHO and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to “contain that infection and prevent its further spread.”

The case underscores the difficulty in stopping the spread of the highly-infectious disease. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak, is currently grappling with the fastest-growing and deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history, caused by the Bundibugyo strain for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. As of Oct. 19, Congo reported 9,552 confirmed cases, including 4,602 related deaths. 

In Nigeria, where there is a more established private health care market and less reliance on international aid for services, health authorities are working to track down and monitor people who may have been exposed, with 44 close contacts already identified.

“There is no need for panic,” the health ministry wrote on social media. “What matters is staying informed, practising good hand hygiene, knowing the symptoms and seeking guidance from public health authorities if you suspect exposure.”

The disease has also recently spread to Kenya, in Eastern Africa, with nine confirmed cases all linked to a man who traveled from Congo to Uganda before taking a flight to Kenya. He died at a hospital in Nairobi after testing positive for Ebola on Oct. 5.

Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, told Devex last week this case illustrated the difficulties in contact tracing. Health authorities were still trying to ascertain who was on his flight, and if they had made onward travel, he said.

The WHO has urged “all countries in the region to sustain a high level of readiness as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to evolve.”

The U.N. health agency, which first declared the outbreak in Congo on May 15, also advised against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries.