The International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), from the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, promoted One Health in global and national responses. The OIE accentuated the role of the veterinary profession due to testing capacity of animal health laboratories and expertise. Veterinary Faculty Sarajevo through its Veterinary Institute participates in the national veterinary service with diagnostic and advisory roles. It has proactively enhanced the scope and quality of laboratories, including strengthening the interdisciplinarity and internationality. Development achieved through earlier pandemic threats resulted in having laboratory and technical facilities for molecular SARS-CoV-2 detection in the wake of the unveiling COVID-19 pandemic (early 2020). From confirmation of the first COVID-19 cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), our staff participated in crisis response teams and, so far, held over sixty media addresses promoting public awareness and science based information. Our laboratories were included in the official detection system and were the first to sequence SARS-CoV-2, then to establish the Alpha COVID-19 variant in BiH human samples and to substantiate one-way virus transmission from humans to pets. The aim of this paper is to describe our activities as a participant in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside faced challenges and gained experiences.

Many wild animal populations are considered endangered due to anthropogenic activities. Wildlife and nature habitat preservation requires holistic and science based approaches supported by adequate regulations. One of the means for wildlife preservation is undoubtedly heath monitoring and investigation of infectious diseases of the wild animal populations, particularly if spillover effects are considered. Even though the theoretical background is well researched, implementation of disease prevention and control measures in wildlife populations entails more challenges than in domestic animal populations. Immediate signs of health disorders in wildlife often become evident when the infectious agent is well established in an area. Additionally, due to unrestricted and often long-range movement of wildlife, diseases are easily spread across borders. Brown bears, indigenous in Europe, are classified by EU regulations as endangered, almost extinct and rare. The wild bear population in Bosnia and Herzegovina shares a genetic lineage with bear populations of neighbouring Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and is one of the few remaining fragments of bear populations in Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe implemented activities for health and telemetric monitoring of wild bears in the Nature Park Skakavac, Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Background: According to the WHO (2019), more than 1.5 billion people worldwide are infected with soil-transmitted parasites. Previous research in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) was mainly conducted in the area of the Sarajevo Canton. Therefore, the aim of the research was to explore contamination of soil and vegetation with developmental forms of parasites in the other cantons of FB&H. Methods: Between Apr and Oct 2018, a total of 1,618 soil and vegetation samples were taken from 386 different locations in the 9 cantons of the FB&H. Results: Positive samples were observed, 65/66 (98.48%) municipalities/cities and on 239/386 (61.92%) locations. Out of 1,618 samples taken in total (1,263 soil samples and 355 vegetation samples), 357 (22.06%) were positive, out of which 337 (26.68%) and 20 (5.63%) were soil and plant samples, respectively. In total, the following adult and developmental forms were identified: Taeniidae eggs (7.30%), Toxocara spp. eggs (62.08%), Ancylostomatidae eggs (25.00%), Trichuris spp. eggs (9.55%), Capillaria spp. eggs (3.37%), Toxascaris leonina eggs (1.40%), Nematodes larvae (19.38%), Giardia duodenalis cysts (5.06%), Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts (1.4%), oocysts and cysts of different species of Protozoa (3.93%). Conclusion: The identified developmental forms of parasites pose a permanent threat to human health. It is necessary to carry out measures to reduce the contamination of soil and vegetation in coordination with systematic solutions (legislation), paralelly with contribution of animal owners, veterinarians, physicians, ecologists, parents and all the others involved in this issue.

Abstract More than 30 dog parasite species have been identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far, and half of these are zoonotic. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of parasitic infections in dogs from Bosnian-podrinje canton with a focus on zoonotic parasites. The study included 212 dogs (107 owned and 105 stray). One or more of the twenty parasite species were found in 82.55% of tested samples. Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Class Trematoda) was found in 0.94% of dogs. Dipylidium caninum and Mesocestoides lineatus (Class Cestoda) were found in 7.55% and 0.94% of dogs, respectively. Taenia spp. and Echinococcus spp. (Family Taeniidae) were found in 0.47% and 0.94% of samples, respectively. In the family of Nematoda, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Toxocara canis (25.94%), Toxascaris leonine (8.96%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.47%), Ancylostoma caninum (3.77%), Uncinaria stenocephala (52.36%), Trichuris vulpis (22.17%), Eucoleus aerophilus (1.42%), Dirofilaria immitis (1.89%) and Dirofilaria repens (1.42%). In the kingdom of Protozoa, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Cystoisospora canis (8.49%), C. ohioensis (2.36%), Cryptosporidium spp. (4.72%), Sarcocystis spp. (0.47%), Babesia spp. (5.19%), and Giardia duodenalis (15.57%). Leishmania infantum was not identified in tested samples. The results showed a high level of parasitic infestation in the dog population in the Bosnian-Podrinje canton, with a high occurrence of zoonotic parasites. Significant differences were found between owned and stray dogs for all classes of detected parasites with exception of the class Trematoda, disregarding specific parasite species.

In Europe, canine and feline dirofilariosis are primarily caused by Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens. The present report describes a case of D. repens infection of the testicular subcutaneous connective tissue in a dog from northeastern Bosnia. A nine-year-old, outdoor-kept, mixed-breed dog, with occasional paresis of the hind legs, was clinically examined and showed four nodules on testicles, several skin lesions, alopecia and erythematous pruritic rash in ventral abdominal and perineal region. Six adults (length from 8 to 12 cm) were isolated after indicated orchiectomy and identified as D. repens. A blood sample was analyzed with a Knott’s technique, acid phosphatase staining, ELISA testing and multiplex PCR assay. Tissue cyst samples were stained with modified Wright technique. The SNAP Heartworm test did not detect D. immitis antigen and molecular PCR identification showed that the sequence was D. repens with the highest similarity (99%) to the isolate from a dog. Description of D. repens clinical presentation in the present case report suggests that infection should be included in the differential diagnosis in all dogs with nodular subcutaneous lesions and pruritus since the potential spread of parasite within dog population may increase the risk of human infections. Keywords: Dirofilaria repens, dog, testicles, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction This paper reviews the current knowledge and understanding of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in humans, animals and the environment in 10 countries in the eastern part of Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Methods: Published scientific papers and conference proceedings from the international and local literature, official national health service reports, national databases and doctoral theses in local languages were reviewed to provide an extensive overview on the epidemiology, diagnostics and research on these pathogens, as well as analyse knowledge gaps and areas for further research. Results: Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. were found to be common in eastern Europe, but the results from different countries are difficult to compare because of variations in reporting practices and detection methodologies used. Conclusion: Upgrading and making the diagnosis/detection procedures more uniform is recommended throughout the region. Public health authorities should actively work towards increasing reporting and standardising reporting practices as these prerequisites for the reported data to be valid and therefore necessary for appropriate control plans.

Recent studies showed that Buxtonella sulcata (B. sulcata) may be a potential causative agent of periodical recurrent diarrhoea of unknown etiology in cattle. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and intensity of infection of B. sulcata and its role in diarrhoea in cattle in Sarajevo area. A total of 412 faecal samples were collected from cattle of different ages (189 young and 223 adults). The overall rate of infection was 27,2%, with a significant difference between young and adults (33,3% vs 21,9%). In animals infected with B. sulcata diarrhoea was present in 57,1% young and 51,0% adults, with no significant difference between them. The frequency of diarrhoea incidence increased proportionally to the intensity of infection with B. sulcata, either young or adults, in a typical logarithmic trend in both age groups (R2=0,97). In samples with more than 2000 cysts per 1 g of faeces diarrhoea was found in almost 80% of adults, and in 100% of young animals. The results obtained here indicate that young animals are more prone to the infection with B. sulcata, but regardless of age the cattle similarly responds to the infection. Key words: cattle, protozoa, Buxtonella sulcata, diarrhoea, Sarajevo

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis among free-living red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For this purpose, a total of 123 fecal samples from red foxes, shot during hunting seasons between January 2011 and March 2012 were examined using immunofluorescent microscopy. Overall, observed prevalences of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis were 3.2 % (4/123) and 7.3% (9/123), respectively. The results show that foxes might play the role of potential reservoirs of Cryptosporidium and Giardia parasites, but further molecular analysis are necessary to elucidate the source of infection, routes of transmission and zoonotic potential of these two pathogens.

Giant American liver fluke Fascioloides magna is a parasite from the Trematoda class, which is of a great epizootiological importance for both deer and local ruminants. The parasite significantly influences the deer health status. Importantly, the deer also spread the parasite eggs in the environment infesting the local ruminants (cattle, sheep, goat) thus creating great economic losses. The fluke appeared in Europe for the first time in the nineteenth century when the invaded American deer was imported. Over the last decades, F. magna was detected in  many European countries, recently even in Croatia (Baranja region).Bosnia and Herzegovina is a natural habitat of the population of European deer (Cervus elaphus) along the border with Croatia, following the water course of the Sava river from Kozara to Semberija so that the seasonal migration of deer from Croatia and back have been observed. Such natural migrations may pose a big epizootiological problem in terms of fascioloidosis spread in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The breakout of fascioloidosis would threaten endangered wild populations, but also the regional livestock. For this reason, the priority of our country as well as the neighboring countries should be cross-border monitoring of game and registering the deer parasitic fauna to prevent the spread of fascioloidosis and other parasitosis, in order to prevent further losses in the already poor livestock breeding. Key words: migration, deer, Fascioloides magna, Bosnia and Herzegovina