An epizootiological field study on tick-borne protozoan infections in foxes (
Vulpes vulpes) was carried out in different parts of Croatia. Spleen samples of 191 carcasses of red foxes killed in ...sanitary hunting, were examined for the presence of hematozoa by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequent sequencing. The investigation revealed four species of hematozoa in 57 foxes (30%), namely
Theileria annae,
Theileria sp. 3182/05 and
Hepatozoon canis.
T. annae was found in 10 foxes (5%),
Theileria sp. 3182/05 in a single animal (1%),
H. canis in 44 (23%) and
Hepatozoon sp. was detected in two foxes (1%).
T. annae and
H. canis were distributed through all the studied regions, while
Theileria sp. 3182/05 and
Hepatozoon sp. were restricted to the Zagreb and Zagorje, and Istria regions, respectively. Detection of
T. annae in all regions of Croatia indicates the presence of the natural cycle of the parasite and raises the possibility of other vectors other than the proposed
Ixodes hexagonus.
Trace elements concentrations (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Hg) were determined in the liver, kidney and muscle of 28 red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and 16 stone marten (Martes foina) from suburban and rural habitats ...from Croatia. Rural and suburban habitats affected Cd and Hg levels in the muscle, liver and kidney of red fox. Significant differences in metal concentrations in the muscle, liver and kidney were detected among species. Suburban stone marten accumulated the highest levels of trace elements (mg/kg w.w.): in muscle 0.019 for Hg; in liver 0.161 for Cd, 36.1 for Cu and 0.349 for Pb; in kidney 1.34 for Cd and 0.318 for Pb. Values observed were higher than those found in suburban red fox and therefore, may represent an important bioindicator for the accumulation of toxic metals in urbanized habitats.
Serological data imply that pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s disease) is present in domestic pigs and wild boars in Croatia. Therefore, this study included testing of brain tissue samples collected from 200 ...domestic pigs and 105 wild boars originating from seventeen districts of Croatia. The presence of pseudorabies virus (PrV) DNA was confirmed in samples originating from six domestic pigs (3%) and one wild boar (0.95%). Positive samples were sequenced and analysed on the basis of a gC genome fragment. PrV strains have shown to be genetically identical and they are strongly related to some representative strains in the relatively heterogeneous Clade A. The results clearly show that PrV is still circulating among the domestic pig population in Croatia. Furthermore, the presence of pseudorabies virus in wild boars underlines the importance of this species as a PrV reservoir. Continued surveillance is necessary to track the viral spread in order to achieve final eradication of the disease.
The differences in metal exposure (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Hg) in the muscle, liver and kidney tissues of brown bears (
Ursus arctos
), grey wolfs (
Canis lupus
), Eurasian lynxs (
Lynx lynx
), Eurasian ...badgers (
Meles meles
) and pine martens (
Martes martes
) from Croatia were observed. The highest mean Cd levels were found in kidney and liver of Eurasian badger (3.05 and 0.537 mg/kg). The highest Cu concentrations (mg/kg) measured in liver tissue were obtained in order: Eurasian badger (15.2) > brown bear (12.1) > pine marten (10.3) > Eurasian lynx (8.43) > grey wolf (6.44). Result presented that Eurasian badger accumulated the highest levels of elements: As, Cu and Pb in muscle; As, Cd, Cu and Pb in liver; Cd and Pb in kidney. Kidney of pine marten accumulated the highest concentrations of As, Cu and Hg. Omnivorous species observed present an important bioindicator for the accumulation of toxic elements indicating an enhanced vulnerability for response to ecological changes in forested terrain. Generally, element concentrations found in five species observed were lower in comparison to levels reported in previous studies and below levels related to toxicosis in mammals.
Croatia is a relatively safe country in regards to wild animal attacks and trauma to humans, even though there are a few reported cases of wild animal attacks on humans almost every year. As a ...biodiversity hot-spot it is inhabited by a few wild animal species that are known to attack humans and cause serious, sometimes even fatal injuriCs to humans throughout the world, such as wolves, brown bears and wild boars. We present a case of a recent wild boar attack on a human--a hunter that occurred in central Croatia in the year 2012. The injured person was a part of a group of hunters involved in a drive hunt on wild boars. He sustained a 4 cm long laceration of the left knee by a wounded male wild boar. After the surgical and antibiotic treatment he recovered completely and without any complications.
Serum samples from 52 free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) collected in Croatia over a period of 10 yr (1998-2007) were tested by microscopic agglutination test for specific antibodies (Ab) to 12 ...Leptospira spp. pathogenic serovars. At titers ranging from 1:100 to 1:2,000, 19 samples (36.5%) were Abpositive to at least one serovar. Antibodies for 10 Leptospira spp. serovars were detected: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis, Sejroe, Canicola, Poi, Hardjo, Ballum, Saxkoebing, Pomona, and Grippotyphosa. In comparison to previous reports, the prevalence of Ab to serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae (52.6%) was significantly higher. Other common serovars were Australis (47.4%) and Sejroe (42.1%). High Ab titers for serovars Canicola (1:500) and Grippotyphosa (1:1,000) were detected for the first time in free-ranging bears from Croatia. A significant correlation between the age of the bears and detection of Ab to Leptospira spp. serovars suggested the presence of pathogenic agents in the natural habitats, whereas increasing trends of Ab prevalence for specific serovars (Icter-ohaemorrhagiae, Australis, and Sejroe) confirmed cohabitation of bears with rats and other small terrestrial mammals on garbage dumps and at bear feeding stations. To prevent cohabitation of bears and rodents, improvements in Croatian waste treatment, big game management, and rodent control programs are strongly recommended, especially in Lika and Gorski Kotar, regions that have high-quality natural habitats for brown bears in Croatia.
We describe a case of transmission of Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis infection from a man to cattle. M. tuberculosis was isolated from the bronchial lymph nodes of a heifer that reacted positively ...to bovine tuberculin but showed no gross pathological changes at slaughter. The cattle owner died of tuberculosis the same year the heifer was diagnosed with M. tuberculosis infection. M. tuberculosis strains isolated from the heifer and its owner were genotyped by mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units--variable-number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing, which revealed identical MIRU profiles for both isolates. This is the first described case of M. tuberculosis infection in cattle and the first case of human-to-animal transmission of M. tuberculosis in Croatia. Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, cattle, Croatia Opisan je slucaj prijenosa zaraze vrstom Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis s covjeka na govedo. M tuberculosis je izdvojen iz bronhalnih limfnih cvorova junice koja je pozitivno reagirala na tuberkulin, a prilikom klanja nisu utvrdene patomorfoloske promjene karakteristicne za tuberkulozu. Iste godine vlasnik goveda je preminuo od posljedica tuberkuloze. Izolati M. tuberculosis iz goveda i covjeka bili su genotipizirani pomocu metode odredivanja promjenjivog broja opetovanih sljedova nukleotida (engl. mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units--variable-number tandem repeat MIRU-VNTR) i u oba je slucaja bio utvrden identican rezultat genotipizacije. Ovo je prvi opisani slucaj zaraze vrstom M. tuberculosis u goveda i prvi slucaj prijenosa ove bolesti s covjeka na govedo u Hrvatskoj. Kjucne rijeci: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, govedo, Hrvatska
Over a period of five years (2002-2007) a total of 351 wild boar (Sus scrofa) serum samples were collected during regular hunting procedures. All samples were tested by microscopic agglutination test ...(MAT) for the presence of specific antibodies (AB) to 12 Leptospira spp. serovars. At different sera dilutions ((ranging from 100 to 3200) 112 samples (31.9%) were found positive to at least one pathogenic serovar, and AB to nine Leptospira spp. serovars were detected: Australis, Pomona, Tarassovi, Sejroe, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Saxkoebing, and Bataviae. In total we recorded 147 positive reactions of which the majority (N = 101; 68.7%) were found positive at basic dilution (BD = 100), whereas 31.3% (N=46) reactions were detected positive at higher dilutions. The most frequent serovar was Australis (33.3%), followed by the serovars Pomona (21.8%) and Tarassovi (14.3%), whilst the serovars Australis and Pomona recorded the highest AB titer (3200) and showed statistically significant frequency in cross-reactions (recorded in 23.8% cases). We found significant differences between AB prevalence in different age groups, with the highest distinction between detected positive samples in piglets ((21..5%)) and adult specimens ((50..8%)).. According to the aerial distribution,, the highest percentaage off positive wild boar samples originated from lowland habitats in regions of Posavina (Novska--46.8%, Kutina--45.3%) and Slavonija and Baranja (Tikves--43.6%). Considering the fact that the wild boar population in Croatia is showing a constant tendency to grow, further research is indispensable to clarify the role of wild boar in the transmission of leptospirosis to other wild and domestic species.. Key words: Leptospira spp., wild boar, Sus scrofa, serology, Croatia Tijjekom perioda od pet godina ((2002..--2007..)) ukupno jje pregledan 351 uzorak seruma divljjih svinjja ((Sus scrofa) iz kontinentalnoga podrucja Hrvatske. Uzorci su prikupljeni tijekom uobicajenih lovnih aktivnosti te su bili pretrazeni mikroskopskom aglutinacijom na prisutnost specificnih protutijela za 12 razlicitih serovara Leptospira spp. Pri razlicitim razrjetenjima seruma (u rasponu od 100 do 3200) u 112 uzoraka (31,9%) ustanovljena je pozitivna seroloska reakcija na najmanje jedan patogeni serovar. Ukupno smo utvrdili protutijela za devet serovara Leptospira spp. kako slijedi:: Australis, Pomona, Tarasovi, Sejroe, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorhagiae, Balum, Saxkoebing i Bataviae. Vecinski udio od 68,7% (N = 101) ukupno utvrtenih pozitivnih reakcija (N = 147) registriran je pri osnovnom razrjetenju (OR = 100), dok je preostali dio 31,3% (N = 46) pozitivnih reakcija zabiljezen pri vecim razrjectenjima. Kao najucestaliji serovar u serumu divljih svinjja izdvojili smo Australis ((33,,3%)), a potom su slijedili Pomona ((21,,8%)) i Tarasovi ((14,,3%)). Serovarovi Australis i Pomona iskazali su najvisi titar protutijela ((3200)), kao i statisticki znacajnu ucestalost pojavljivanja u "mectureakcijama" ko-aglutinacije, koje su zabiljezene u 23,8% slucajeva. Utvrdili smo znacajne razlike u prevalenciji specificnih protutijela s obzirom na dobne razrede divljih svinja, tako da je najveca razlika izmetu pozitivnih seroloskih reakcija utvrtena pri komparaciji prasadi ((21,5%) i odraslih jedinki ((50,8%). S obzirom na prostornu raspodjelu najvisi postotak pozitivnih uzoraka u kontineentalnojj populaciji divljih svinja ustanovljen jje u nizzinskim podrucjima Posavine ((Novska--46,8%, Kutina--45,3%)) te Slavonije i Baranjje ((Tikves--43,6%)). S obzirom na cinjenicu da brojjnost populacije divljih svinja u Hrvatskojj iskazuje tendenciju konstantnog rasta, nuznost daljnjih epidemioloskih istrazivanja uloge divljih svinja u prijenosu leptospiroze namece se kao buduci imperativ. Kljucne rijeci: Leptospira spp., divlje svinje, Sus scrofa, serologija, Hrvatska
Pseudorabies virus (PrV) can persist within the wild boar population allowing them to be potential reservoirs of PrV for domestic pigs but also other animal species including hunting dogs. This ...article presents a case report of PrV infection in two hunting dogs from different central Croatian districts. Clinically, symptoms regarding the CNS and automutilation predominated in both animals, following their death. Histological evidence of perivascular infiltration of brain tissue, positive cytopathological changes after inoculation into cell culture and PCR confirmed the presence of PrV. Further sequencing of PrV gC genome fragment confirmed the presence of Clade A genotype, similar to strains derived previously from domestic pigs and wild boars in Croatia. The first description of pseudorabies in hunting dogs in Croatia confirming the possibility of viral transmission through contact from wild boars to hunting dogs has been presented.
Opisan je slučaj prijenosa zaraze vrstom Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis s čovjeka na govedo. M. tuberculosis je izdvojen iz bronhalnih limfnih čvorova junice koja je pozitivno reagirala na ...tuberkulin, a prilikom klanja nisu utvrđene patomorfološke promjene karakteristične za tuberkulozu. Iste godine vlasnik goveda je preminuo od posljedica tuberkuloze. Izolati M. tuberculosis iz goveda i čovjeka bili su genotipizirani pomoću metode određivanja promjenjivog broja opetovanih sljedova nukleotida (engl. mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units - variable-number tandem repeat MIRU-VNTR) i u oba je slučaja bio utvrđen identičan rezultat genotipizacije. Ovo je prvi opisani slučaj zaraze vrstom M. tuberculosis u goveda i prvi slučaj prijenosa ove bolesti s čovjeka na govedo u Hrvatskoj.
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