Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an important disease of cattle which is included in the OIE list of notifiable terrestrial animal diseases because of its great economic importance. The etiological agent is the Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). In the control of LSD attenuated strains of LSDV and SPPV are successfully used as vaccine strains in infected areas. In the case of vaccination policy, due to the possibility of mild or systemic post-vaccination reactions in vaccinated animals, the application of diagnostic procedures that will rapidly and specifically differentiate LSDV field strains from LSD vaccine virus strains are extremely important. Rapidity in diagnostics and disposal of infected animals is one of the key factors in the prevention of spreading the disease. In the presented study we have described the development and validation of two real-time TaqMan-PCR assays for a rapid, sensitive and specific detection of the virulent field LSDV strain currently circulating in the Balkan Peninsula. Specificity for the field strain and exclusivity for vaccine strains was tested on 171 samples from naturally infected and vaccinated animals. The results of this study show that both developed real-time PCR assays are more sensitive than the conventional nested PCR in detecting field LSDV strains thus enabling rapid and high-throughput detection of animals infected with field strains of LSDV. In conclusion, both KV-2 and FLI real-time PCR assays described in this study are simple, rapid, sensitive and suitable for routine use in a diagnostic laboratory and have the potential to replace conventional nested gel-based PCR assays as the standard procedure for the detection of field strains of LSDV in clinical samples.

The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of combining a prebiotic with alfalfa on fermentation by laying hen cecal bacteria.

Studies conducted during the past few years have confirmed active West Nile virus (WNV) circulation in Serbia. Based on these studies and the epidemiological situation, the Veterinary Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection launched national WNV surveillance programmes in 2014 and 2015. The programmes encompassed the territory of Serbia and were conducted by the veterinary service in collaboration with entomologists and ornithologists. The objective of the programmes was early detection of WNV and timely reporting to the public health service and local authorities to increase both clinical and mosquito control preparedness. The WNV surveillance programmes were based on direct and indirect surveillance of the presence of WNV by the serological testing of initially seronegative sentinel horses and chickens as well as through viral detection in pooled mosquito and wild bird samples. The most intense WNV circulation was observed in all seven districts of Vojvodina Province (northern Serbia) and Belgrade City, where most of the positive samples were detected among sentinel animals, mosquitoes and wild birds. The West Nile virus surveillance programmes in 2014 and 2015 showed satisfactory results in their capacity to indicate the spatial distribution of the risk for humans and their sensitivity to early detect viral circulation at the enzootic level. Most of the human cases were preceded by the detection of WNV circulation as part of the surveillance programmes. According to the existing data, it can be reasonably assumed that WNV infection, now an endemic infection in Serbia, will continue to present a significant problem for the veterinary service and public health.

Macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramins (MLS) resistance genes are responsible for resistance to these antibiotics in Staphylococcus infections. The purpose of the study was to analyze the distribution of the MLS resistance genes in community- and hospital-acquired Staphylococcus isolates. The MLS resistance phenotypes (cMLSb, iMLSb, M/MSb, and LSa/b) were determined by double-disc diffusion method. The presence of the MLS resistance genes (ermA, ermB, ermC, msrA/B, lnuA, lnuB, and lsaA) were determined by end-point PCR in 179 isolates of staphylococci collected during one-year period at the Center for Microbiology of Public Health Institute in Vranje. The most frequent MLS phenotype among staphylococcal isolates, both community-acquired and hospital-acquired, was iMLSb (33.4%). The second most frequent was M/MSb (17.6%) with statistically significantly higher number of hospital-acquired staphylococcal isolates (p0.05). The prevalence of iMLSb phenotypes may change over time, so it is necessary to perform periodic survey of MLS resistance phenotypes, particularly where the D-test is not performed routinely.

American foulbrood (AFB) is exclusively an infectious disease of honey bee larvae (Apis mellifera) and their subspecies that is spread easily and rapidly and is often present in apiaries. Due to the resistance and pathogenicity of the bacterial causative agent of the disease, which has considerable epizootiological and economic significance for beekeeping, AFB was classified as a highly dangerous, infectious animal disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Considering the severity of the infection, a frequent occurrence, rapid and easy spread, epizooty and enzooty are common. We tried to present an overview of the latest information related to AFB through several chapters. In addition to the latest data on the etiology of the causative agent, the most important elements of the clinical signs of the disease are also listed. Along with an overview of classic microbiological and the latest molecular methods of diagnosis, we also discuss AFB treatment from its differential diagnostic aspect. We hope that through demonstrating the mentioned preventive measures and measures of good beekeeping practice, the review will contribute to the preservation of the health of bees and therefore the overall biodiversity of the planet.