Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonosis of wide geographic distribution and high prevalence, significant in domestic and wild animals as well as humans. It may have a notable impact on reproductive health in dogs. The clinical spectrum ranges from mild subclinical infections to severe septicemic disease with renal failure and/or pulmonary hemorrhagic syndrome, often with a high mortality rate. Clinical expression depends on the host's susceptibility, immune status, infectious dose, and the virulence of the infecting serovar or strain. Certain serovars, for still unknown reasons, tend to cause more severe disease manifestations. Reproductive disorders-including embryonic resorption, abortion, and stillbirthare rarely described in the literature, although Leptospira spp. is known to cause transplacental infections. Individual cases of abortion associated with serovars Buenos Aires and Bratislava have been reported, but evidence remains limited and primarily anecdotal. Diagnostic approaches include serological testing (MAT), PCR, and histopathology, though interpretation may be hindered by cross-reactivity and post-vaccinal antibodies. Considering increasing indications of the reproductive impact of Leptospira spp., it should be routinely included in the differential diagnosis of abortion in bitches, especially in endemic areas and in late gestation. Prevention relies on vaccination, rodent control, and strict biosecurity measures, with special focus on breeding females.

Background: Free-roaming cats are a potential source of several infectious and parasitic diseases that can be easily transmitted to outdoor pet cats. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of co-occurrence of causative agents of otitis externa and to identify associated risk factors in free-roaming cats living in the continental region of Croatia. In addition, we investigated the presence of Malassezia yeasts in the external ear canals of cats using mycology culture. Methods: Clinical assessment of otitis externa involved auricular and otoscopic examinations. Samples of cerumen and ear swabs were collected and analyzed via cytological examination and mycological culture. Results: The frequency of otitis externa in the population of free-roaming cats was 40.5% (30/74) based on the presence of Otodectes cynotis, Malassezia yeasts, cocci, rods, and/or neutrophils. Results revealed multiple diagnoses for the same ears and unevenly affected ears of the same cats. O. cynotis was detected in 25.7% (19/74) of the cats and was the primary cause of otitis in 63.3% (19/30) infected cats. Co-diagnosis of O. cynotis and Malassezia yeasts was common at both the ear (39.3%, 22/56 infected ears) and cat (40.0%, 12/30 infected cats) levels, while Malassezia was causing otitis in 30% (9/30) infected cats. Three or more diagnoses co-occurred in 15% of infected ears and 27% of infected cats. The clinical signs of otitis externa were absent in 8.9% (5/56) of infected ears, all affected by Malassezia alone or with O. cynotis. Malassezia yeasts were cultured in 83.3% (25/30) of the otitis cases, with heavy growth in 70% and M. pachydermatis as the predominant species in all cases. Conclusion: The high prevalence of otitis externa caused by O. cynotis and Malassezia yeasts in free-roaming cats in Croatia provides important insights into the health status of this cat population. Although otitis externa and its causative agents are frequently found in free-roaming cats, the actual prevalence of otitis externa and all associated risk factors have not been thoroughly assessed.

Leptospirosis, a globally re-emerging zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp., poses a significant threat to public health. Leptospirosis in cats is often neglected due to its high underdiagnosis. Therefore, the role of cats in disease transmission and bacterial maintenance in the environment remains unclear. For this study, 54 serum samples, 54 urine samples and 27 EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples from pet cats presenting to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital due to health problems were used. The serum samples were tested for antibodies against 12 pathogenic serovars of Leptospira spp. using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). EDTA-anticoagulated blood and urine samples were tested for the lipL32 gene of pathogenic Leptospira spp. by conventional (PCR) and real-time (qPCR) polymerase chain reaction. Agglutinating antibodies were detected in 18.52% (10/54) of the sera with a titre range of 1:50 to 1:12800. The most common serogroup was Pomona, followed by Sejroe, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis and Javanica. Leptospira spp. DNA was found in 1.85% (1/54) of the urine samples, while all EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples were negative. A statistically significant difference in seropositivity regarding lifestyle was found between outdoor/indoor and indoor-only cats, while the presence of another cat in the household significantly increased the likelihood of seropositivity. Cats with immunocompromising conditions showed a significantly increased risk of seropositivity, especially those undergoing immunosuppressive treatment. In addition, respiratory signs and changes in lung structure associated with the presence of leptospiral antibodies, and these cats were more likely to be infected with the Pomona serogroup. Moreover, cats with anaemia, leucocytosis, and thrombocytopenia were significantly more likely to have antibodies against Leptospira spp., while seropositive cats had significantly lower urine-specific gravity compared to seronegative cats. The results underline the importance of raising awareness of feline leptospirosis in veterinary care and recognising pet cats as potential carriers of leptospires. Further research is needed to clarify the specific role of the Pomona serogroup as a potentially highly evolutionary drifting serogroup in terms of pathogenicity and to clarify the zoonotic potential of infected cats, which is crucial for the implementation of effective public health measures and veterinary interventions.

A 19 -month -old female common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) was presented with a 4 -day history of anorexia and behavioral changes. At presentation, a combination of neurological signs, erosions, and ulcerations of the mucous membranes of the oral mucosa and mucocutaneous junction of the lips were observed, suggesting herpesvirus infection. Although etiological and symptomatic therapy was initiated immediately, the animal died the next day. A necropsy was performed, and gross pathology and pathohistology findings indicated a systemic viral infection. Definitive diagnosis was based on the results of molecular testing that demonstrated the presence of human herpes simplex virus type 1. In conclusion, marmosets are a highly susceptible host for human herpes simplex virus. To reduce the risk of infection and prevent this highly lethal disease in monkeys, contact with humans who have symptomatic or asymptomatic forms of HSV-1 should be limited and accompanied by appropriate hygiene measures.

Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections and a major problem in terms of both veterinary medicine and public health. However, the disease is under-recognised and under-diagnosed worldwide, particularly in horses. Clinical leptospirosis in horses is mainly associated with recurrent uveitis (ERU), which has recently been studied more intensively, and reproductive disorders, the epidemiology of which is still relatively poorly understood. To enhance our comprehension of abortions caused by leptospirosis in horses and to identify the causative strains, a serological study was carried out with subsequent molecular characterisation of the isolate obtained. Using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), serum samples from mares that aborted and foetal fluids (when available) were tested for antibodies against Leptospira spp. Furthermore, bacteria isolation from kidney cultures was conducted. Of 97 mare serum samples, 21 (21.64%) tested positive, with Grippotyphosa and Pomona being the most frequently detected serogroups. A significantly higher seroprevalence was found in aborting mares compared to the healthy horse population from the same geographical area, as well as a pronounced seasonal variation. Leptospiral antibodies were not detected in any of the foetal fluids, but isolation was successful in 1 case out of 39 (2.56%). Genotyping by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) identified the obtained isolate as Leptospira kirschneri, serogroup Pomona, serovar Mozdok. Further surveillance and molecular typing of Leptospira strains causing abortion in horses would be invaluable in understanding the prevalence and impact of leptospirosis on equine reproductive health in Europe.

Canine respiratory coronavirus is a relatively new addition to the list of pathogens causing canine infectious disease complex. The virus is highly contagious, with a high prevalence in the dog population worldwide, especially in shelters. This study aimed to establish the presence and risk factors associated with infection in privately owned dogs and breeding colonies. This study was the first to demonstrate the presence of canine respiratory coronavirus in Croatia. Out of the 257 serum samples, 35.03% of dogs from breeding kennels and 43% of pet dogs tested enzyme-linked immunoassay positive, but the difference was not statistically significant. Sex was not an important risk factor, but the seropositivity rate increased with age. Mixing of dogs during hunting, training and dog shows was not associated with a higher seroprevalence in the breeding colonies. Daily cleaning and disinfection showed little effect on the infection spread. The study was done on a limited sample. However, it still provides evidence that the epizootiology of this disease is complex. There is no available vaccine for canine respiratory coronavirus, and further studies on environmental and risk factors will give the valuable data needed to prevent this disease.

Leptospirosis is re-emerging zoonotic bacterial disease of global importance that affects domestic and wild animals and humans. Due to the public health importance, control of disease in Croatia is being implemented by monitoring the seroprevalence of equine leptospirosis and it is regulated by the law. In the period from 2012 to 2022, a total of 61,724 serum samples from apparently healthy horses were admitted to the Laboratory for leptospires, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb. Serum samples were tested for Leptospira spp. antibodies using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Samples were considered seropositive with a cut-off titre 1:200 for Bratislava and 1:400 for other Leptospira spp. serovars. Out of 61,724 serum samples tested, 6,665 (10.80%) were found seropositive for at least one Leptospira serovar. In the studied period, seroprevalence varied between 5.00% and 15.94%. The highest seroprevalence was found for serovar Pomona (41.98%) and serovar Grippotyphosa (31.34%), followed by Sejroe (8.03%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (7.05%) and Bratislava (6.47%). Results indicated that horses in Croatia are particularly exposed to Leptospira spp. infections. The most prevalent presumed infective serovar was Pomona increasing each year. Investigated horses were randomly selected and healthy and most seropositive horses have anamnestic titre due to previous infection. This is the first study in Europe reporting such high seropositivity for the serovar Pomona in apparently healthy horses. According to the results of the present study, the question arises of the possible evolutionary adaptation of the pathogenic serovar Pomona as dominant for horses.

Vezikularni stomatitis (VS) reemergentna je virusna zarazna bolest prije svega konja, goveda i svinja, ali i ovaca, koza, ljama i alpaka. Uzročnik bolesti je virus vezikularnog stomatitisa, arbovirus iz porodice Rhabdoviridae, u koju su uključeni različiti virusi kralježnjaka, beskralježnjaka i mnogih biljnih vrsta. Zbog nemogućnosti kliničkog razlikovanja od slinavke i šapa, vezikularni stomatitis u goveda i svinja iziskuje posebnu pozornost, iznimno kontagiozne zarazne bolesti papkara. Kliničkom slikom bolesti u konja i goveda dominira ptijalizam kao posljedica formiranja, a potom pucanja vezikula na dorzalnoj strani jezika, mekom nepcu, dentalnoj ploči i mukokutanom spoju usana. Lezije se nalaze i na krunskom djelu kopita, papaka, a u goveda i na sisama. Zbog erozija koje nastaju na mjestu rupturiranih vezikula bolesna životinja odbija hranu, a opiru se i mužnji. Za razliku od konja i goveda u kojih je obilno slinjenje, prvi simptom bolesti u svinja sje šepanje koje izazivaju lezije na krunskom djelu papaka. Bolest se unutar stada širi izravnim kontaktom, kontaminiranim predmetima, opremom i površinama, a veliku ulogu u širenju virusa VS imaju i insekti (komarci, pješčane muhe, mušice svrbljivice i komarčići), mehanički i/ili kao biološki vektori. Prevencija vezikularnog stomatitisa temelji se na izolaciji zaraženih stada, ograničenom kretanju primljivih životinja u zaraženom području, kontroli insekata (vektora) i uporabi cjepiva, dostupnih u nekim endemskim regijama Srednje i Južne Amerike. Povremena pojava infekcije u ljudi predstavlja određeno javno-zdravstveni problem. U ljudi bolest je blaga i slična je gripi te se smatra manje opasnom zoonozom.

Tetanus je akutna zarazna bolest u pasa koja nastaje uslijed djelovanja neurotoksina bakterije C. tetani. Ulazna vrata su najčešće ubodne rane ili ozljede na koži. Inkubacija može trajati u vremenskom rasponu od tri dana do tri tjedna. Razlikujemo dva klinička oblika bolesti: lokalizirani i generalizirani. Kod lokaliziranog oblika vidljiva je ukočenost ekstremiteta na kojem se nalazi ozljeda ili rana. Tipični klinički znaci generalizirang oblika bolesti su grč muskulature lica, a tijekom progresije bolesti dolazi do generalizirane ukočenosti svih ekstremiteta, intermitentnih toničkih grčeva dišne muskulature te spastične paralize. Bolest je popraćena brojnim komplikacijama, a letalan ishod posljedica je respiratornog ili srčanog zastoja. Dijagnostika se temelji na detaljnoj anamnezi i tipičnoj kliničkoj slici. Liječenje tetanusa uključuje kiruršku obradu rane, neutralizaciju slobodnog neurotoksina antitoksinom, sprječavanje daljnjeg umnažanja bakterije C. tetani antimikrobnim pripravcima te potpornu terapiju. Sam proces liječenja je dugotrajan, a prognoza i ishod bolesti ne ovise samo o obliku i tijeku bolesti već i o njezinom pravovremenom prepoznavanju te adekvatnom liječenju. Uz sve navedeno potrebno je naglasiti da još uvijek ne postoji jedinstveni pristup liječenju ove bolesti u pasa. Imunoprofilaksa tetanusa u pasa se ne provodi.

The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) may cause persistent, lifelong and lethal infections in domestic and wild felids worldwide. FIV has been confirmed in most Felidae species, while FeLV infection is rare among non-domestic cats. The view that retroviruses are pathogenic in domestic cats but not in other free-ranging felid species was disproved by recent findings of retroviral pathology in several wild felids. The epidemiology of retroviral infections in felids in Croatia was only investigated in urban domestic cats, while there are no data for wild cat species. As the reintroduced Dinaric lynx (Lynx lynx) population suffers from low genetic diversity, which reduces their ability to adapt to new viral outbreaks, the health status of this lynx population is of particular concern. Two different commercial immunochromatographic assays were used for qualitative detection of FIV antibodies and FeLV antigens, while PCR was used for amplification of proviral gag and env genes in Eurasian lynx blood samples. All the 17 Eurasian lynx samples collected between 2001 and 2019 tested negative in both immunochromatographic and molecular tests. Even though our sample size was rather small, considering the fact that the population size of lynx in Croatia is estimated at 40 - 60 animals, our results can be considered representative for the population’s health status. Also, data about retroviral prevalence in Eurasian lynxes are scarce, so any new findings are very valuable.

Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated in two dog populations. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralising antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, samples for viral isolation and PCR were unavailable. Still, seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.

: Prognostic factors for survival of canine patients infected with Leptospira spp. Vet

The objectives of this study were to describe the epizootiological and clinical features of canine patients with leptospirosis, and to determine the association between the health parameters observed and patient survival. The study population consisted of sixty patients admitted to the Department of Microbiology and Infectious diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicinein Zagreb, Croatia from 2009 to 2017. The majority of the infections were caused by serogroup Pomona (50%), while serogroups Icterohaemorhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Australis and Sejroe were identified in 30%, 8.3%, 5% and 1.7% of the patients, respectively. At initial presentation, the most frequently detected organ dysfunction was renal failure (85%), followed by pulmonary (60%) and hepatic injury (58.3%). When the frequency of animals with involvement of organ systems was calculated, 31.7% had three systems involved, 46.7% had two systems involved, 13.3% had one, and 5% did not have any system involved. The mortality risk in the group that had 0, 1, 2 and 3 systems involved was 0%, 62.5%, 46.4%, and 89.5%, respectively. In the univariable analysis, several factors were univariably associated with the risk of a lethal outcome including: day of admission (P<0.01), sex (P = 0.09), Leptospira vaccination status (P = 0.11), the presence of moderate to severe acute kidney injury (P<0.01), pulmonary involvement (P = 0.11), and several other parameters. In the multivariable Cox's model, the presence of moderate and severe kidney injury was identified as a statistically significant factor associated with lower survival. The frequency of severe clinical cases of canine leptospirosis caused by the serogroup Pomona found in this study supports the need to consider inclusion of strains of this serogroup in vaccines available on the European market.

Clinical cases resembling strangles are regularly seen in some areas of Croatia. However, there are no data on the prevalence of infection and the clinical forms or geographic distribution of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in horses resident in Croatia, in order to estimate the geographic distribution of infection. The study included 291 horse sera from the eight counties where the majority of Croatian horses are kept. Sera were tested by indirect ELISA (iELISA) for the presence of serum antibodies against S. equi protein A (SEQ_2190) and protein C (SeM). Positive horses were detected in all counties. Overall seroprevalence was 16.5 per cent (48/291), ranging from 7.1 to 29.6 per cent. A positive association was observed between the population size of the horses in the counties and the seropositivity rates: the larger the population, the higher the seropositivity. The results of this study suggest that S. equi infection is widespread in Croatia. Further investigation of the clinical manifestations, circulating strains and other characteristics of the disease in Croatia and raising awareness of the disease among horse owners are now required.

Feline infectious peritonitis is a viral disease caused by a mutated strain of the the feline coronavirus (FCoV). The disease usually develops in cats in kennels, shelters, temporary shelters and more densely populated free groups of cats. The frequency is significantly higher among kittens and young cats. Mortality is extremely high once clinical signs appear. The virulence and infectious dose depend on the virus type and strain. Sick and infected animals, persistent carriers, contaminated litter trays, bowls and combs may be the source of infection. The virus is transmitted by indirect contact. Faeces contain FCoV at high concentrations, and the faeco-oral route of transmission is the most important. The incubation period is from 2 to 3 weeks to up to a few months, and sometimes years, depending on the immunological status of the animal. Two different forms of the disease have been distinguished: effusive (wet form) and non-effusive (dry form). The wet form is characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the body cavities, and the dry form by granulomatous infiltration of the parenchymal organs and intestines. Pathoanatomical and histological changes show that a combination of wet and dry forms of the disease is the most often. A reliable diagnosis is possible only by the post mortem pathohistological examination, which is considered the gold standard in the diagnosis of this disease. Treatment of feline infectious peritonitis involves only symptomatic therapy of the disease, as opposed to treating the cause. Feline coronavirus is widespread in a multi-cat environment, making it difficult to minimize the risk of spread of the infection. Vaccination is not routinely used in practice.