AIM To analyze the frequency and distribution of human brucellosis in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 2001-2008, and measures and activities undertaken for prevention and control of the disease. METHOD In this descriptive, retrospective study, we used official reports on infectious diseases from public health institutes at the federal and cantonal level, as well as epidemiological surveys. For comparison with animal brucellosis cases, we used the distribution data from veterinary surveillance. RESULTS Since 2001, the number of infected people has rapidly increased and brucellosis has become a very important public health problem. In the period 2001-2008, there were 1639 human brucellosis cases and the number of cases increased every year. The morbidity rate over the study period ranged from 3.8 to 33.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to epidemiological surveys, in villages human brucellosis was transmitted mostly by contact with infected animals and their products, and in cities by consumption of dairy products made from contaminated, unpasteurized milk. When test-and-slaughter control approach was used, the prevalence of seropositive livestock was 4.6% and approximately 70,000 animals were slaughtered after testing between 2001 and 2008. From 1 June 2009, this approach was replaced with mass vaccination of sheep and goats. CONCLUSION The large number of human brucellosis cases and seropositive livestock poses a very serious problem for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The solution may be the introduction of mass vaccination.

Serotyping of five rabies virus isolates with monoclonal anti-nucleoprotein antibodies for classical rabies virus and rabies-related viruses and phylogenetic relationships among sequences indicate that viruses circulating in population of animals in Bosnia and Herzegovina belong to the sero-genotype 1 of classical rabies virus. Phylogenetic relationships among sequences of our viruses have shown the presence of two phylogenetic lines, one which is present in the northwestern part and other which is present in the northeastern part of the country. Our viruses are closely related to Westeuropean isolates of rabies virus.

Rabies remains endemic within a number of countries in Southeast Europe including Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. With the probable expansion of the European Union eastwards, it is likely that rabies elimination programs will be increased to reduce the burden of disease in new accession countries. A clear understanding of the epidemiology of the virus in this area of Europe is vital before such programs are introduced. With the exception of Turkey, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the principal disease reservoir in Southeastern Europe. However, cases of rabies in the dog (Canis familiaris) are regularly reported. In contrast to Northern Europe, the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) does not appear to be a vector in the south. This study summarises the current rabies situation in Southeast Europe and demonstrates the phylogenetic relationships between the viruses in a number of the countries within the region. Rabies virus RNA was extracted from original samples and a fragment of the nucleoprotein gene amplified by reverse-transcriptase PCR. Automated sequencing was used to derive nucleoprotein gene sequences and these were used to prepare a molecular phylogeny of rabies viruses in Southeast Europe. In Bulgaria, the dog is the main vector bringing rabies into contact with humans and livestock. However, other species may also act as reservoirs for the disease, complicating the development of elimination strategies. The fox is the principal reservoir species for rabies in Romania although cases in dogs are regularly reported. Despite a gradual decline in dog rabies, urban pockets of the disease remain in many regions of Turkey. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the fox has been a significant vectorfor rabies and may be responsible for increases in rabies in cattle in the Aegean region of the country. Throughout the region there is evidence for cross-border movement of rabies by both wildlife and canine vectors.

At the end of August 2002, clinical symptoms of bluetongue (BT) (fever between 39 degrees C and 41 degrees C, muco-purulent or bloody nasal discharge, oedema of the lips and the intramandibular space, foot lesions including laminitis and coronitis in some cases, diarrhoea and dysentery) were recorded in Pramenka sheep flocks in north-east Bosnia in August 2002. A total of 9 599 serum samples (ovine: 8 967; bovine: 632) from 40 communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina were tested for the presence of anti-bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) and the standard agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. The c-ELISA revealed BTV-seropositive reactions in 187 (1.94%) samples and the AGID test detected 141 (1.53%) cases. Complete agreement was recorded between the c-ELISA and AGID test results for bovine sera. These results indicate that the ability of c-ELISA to detect anti-bluetongue virus antibodies in ovine sera was superior to that of the AGID. All positive sera were collected from animals in the river areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii . 1 Most human infections follow contact with parturient ruminants, although occasional infections have also been linked to contact with infected cats, dogs, wild animals, and pigeons. 1 Disease outbreaks have also been reported in towns downwind to birthing infected animals due to windborne spread of contaminated dust. 2 C. burnetii infection has been previously reported in both humans and animals from central and eastern Europe, including Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. 3 − 5 Q fever has historically been considered enzootic in this region.

Q-Fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetti. C. burnetti is an obligate intracellular parasite. It lives in phagolysosome of the host cell. By its infection of the sensitive persons develops the acute noncharacteristic disease, which passes noncharacteristically, with the appearance of higher temperature, headache, fever, weakness of the organism or by the appearance of symptoms of the undifferentiated infection of the upper parties of the respiratory system. In the course of the infection is being developed the intersticial pneumonia, what is the reason of the infected hospitalization. Most often get sick the sheep, cows and goats, what showed also on our examined sample. In most animals the symptoms of this bacterial infection are not present, pass unobviously, and get turned out during their gravidity. The most important carriers of the causes of this disease on the domestic or wild animals are artropodes, in which within the kind is possible also the transvatial and transstadial transfer. The wild animals transfer the disease at the domestic ones, and people most often are infected by contact with these animals, their consuming of meat or milk or by contact with their secretions. Though, the most important way of getting infected of people is aerosol contaminated by the carrier as these bacteria for a long get kept in the contaminated dust, wool, animal skin, fur, straw and the excretions of the infected animals. In the illusorilly healthy and pregnant animals the bacteria are to be found in the fertile water, chorions, and placenta, that is C. burnetti becomes the cause of the premature birth or abortion in these animals. In this way comes to the bacterial contamination of the environment of the animal itself. The diagnosis of Q.-Fever is complement fixation test, indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFT) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA).

Q-Fever nowadays presents the most diffuse disease in the world, caused by the microorganisms from the family Risckettiacae. This disease is Coxiellae burnetii. The laboratory diagnosis of the Q-Fever can be stated either by the isolation of the causer from the patient material, either by the proving of the specifically antibodies. The serologic diagnostics presents the choile method in Q-Fever. The aim of this work is to illustrate the results of the detection of the serum in patients with the clinical symptoms at the infeçtion Coxiellom burnetii. We tested the sera of the patient from the region of the Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, which arrived in our laboratory in the period of November 2000 till May 2001. From the total 174 prepared sera specific IgM of the antibodies we found in cases, and the specific IgG of the antibodies in 54 sera.