Evidence of Aujeszky's disease in wild boar in Serbia.

BACKGROUND: Aujeszky's disease is a viral disease of suids caused by Suid Herpesvirus 1. The disease has worldwide distribution with significant economic impact. In Serbia, there is neither an Aujeszky's disease eradication nor national vaccination programme of domestic pigs. Since clinical symptoms of Aujeszky's disease are not specific, it is important to establish a link between clinical signs and presence of ADV active infection in wild boars. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of active infection within wild boar showing signs of ADV and also to examine relationship between isolates from domestic pigs and wild boar. Having in mind that virus has not been previously isolated from wild boars in Serbia, we report the first isolation of Suid Herpesvirus 1 from this species in Serbia. RESULTS: Tissue and serum samples from 40 wild boars from eastern Serbia were examined for evidence of Aujeszky's disease (AD). Suid Herpesvirus 1 (SHV1), the cause of AD was isolated on PK15 cell line from three tissue samples, inducing cytopathic effect (CPE) with syncytia forming, and viral genome was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in eight samples. Genetic analysis of us4, us9 and ul49.5 partial sequences showed high homology between ADV isolates from wild boars and between isolates from wild boars and domestic animals. Neutralizing antibodies were not detected by virus neutralisation test (VNT) in sera from four out of eight PCR positive wild boars suggesting recent infection in those animals. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first demonstration of Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) in the wild boar population in Serbia although seroconversion has been detected previously.

Trichinella infections in different host species of an endemic district of Serbia.

Trichinella infections are endemic in the Balkan region of Europe. Though trichinellosis and agents thereof are serious problems for human health and animal husbandry, only a limited number of Trichinella isolates from Serbia have been identified at the species level so far. The aim of the present study was the surveillance and monitoring of Trichinella in domestic pigs and wild animals from the endemic district of Branicevo. Investigations performed during the 2009-2010 period revealed Trichinella infections in 344 out of 282,960 (0.12%) domestic pigs. Among wildlife, Trichinella infections were detected in 11 out of 94 (11.7%) wild boars (Sus scrofa), 7 out of 57 (12.3%) red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 7 out of 13 (53.8%) golden jackals (Canis aureus), and in all three examined wolves (Canis lupus). Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi were the only two species identified. T. britovi was identified in 31% of isolates from wildlife of the Branicevo district and T. spiralis was found in 53% of wild animals; mixed infections were observed in 16% of the animals examined. Findings form the basis of an information campaign for veterinary services, pig owners and the hunter's associations about the risk of the transmission of these zoonotic agents. The application of control programs as established at the Veterinary Specialist Institute of Pozarevac resulted in a decline in Trichinella infections among domestic pigs and the absence of human trichinellosis in the last three years in the Branicevo district.

Application of GIS in epizootiological surveillance of swine trichinellosis in one endemic district in Serbia.

Application of new tools for epizootiological investigations in veterinary medicine, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), offers a new approach and possibilities for the eradication or control of infectious diseases. GIS is particularly useful for research conducted in small areas strongly impacted by man. Trichinellosis is a world-wide zoonosis, which is endemic in some European countries, Balkan district and Serbia in particular. There are very few data on GIS application in the field of trichinellosis. We here present the application of GIS for mapping Trichinella spp. occurrence and spatial and temporal patterns of Trichinello infection in one endemic district in Serbia. Settlements with trichinellosis were marked and particular points of interest were designated. Data on prevalence of Trichinella infection in domestic swine accompanied by location of foci indicated the existence of disease geographical stationarity. This first report on GIS application in Serbia will facilitate trichinellosis surveillance and monitoring of Trichinella spp. circulation among domestic pigs, and populations of synanthropic and sylvatic animals.

Structural analysis of a set of proteins resulting from a bacterial genomics project.

The targets of the Structural GenomiX (SGX) bacterial genomics project were proteins conserved in multiple prokaryotic organisms with no obvious sequence homolog in the Protein Data Bank of known structures. The outcome of this work was 80 structures, covering 60 unique sequences and 49 different genes. Experimental phase determination from proteins incorporating Se-Met was carried out for 45 structures with most of the remainder solved by molecular replacement using members of the experimentally phased set as search models. An automated tool was developed to deposit these structures in the Protein Data Bank, along with the associated X-ray diffraction data (including refined experimental phases) and experimentally confirmed sequences. BLAST comparisons of the SGX structures with structures that had appeared in the Protein Data Bank over the intervening 3.5 years since the SGX target list had been compiled identified homologs for 49 of the 60 unique sequences represented by the SGX structures. This result indicates that, for bacterial structures that are relatively easy to express, purify, and crystallize, the structural coverage of gene space is proceeding rapidly. More distant sequence-structure relationships between the SGX and PDB structures were investigated using PDB-BLAST and Combinatorial Extension (CE). Only one structure, SufD, has a truly unique topology compared to all folds in the PDB.

The first bluetongue virus isolation in Yugoslavia.

Catarrhal fever in sheep or bluetongue (BT) has not been recorded in Yugoslavia until recently. During the first incidence of BT disease in Serbia and Montenegro in 2001, the authors conducted field studies on suspected cases of the disease and collected samples for laboratory diagnosis. BT virus (BTV) was isolated and identified as serotype 9 by the Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright, United Kingdom (the Office International des Epizooties BT reference laboratory).