Brucellosis is a ubiquitous zoonotic disease globally. It is endemic among bovines, sheep, and goats in Albania. The national control and eradication programs for brucellosis has been applied on sheep and goat farms as well as large dairy cattle farms, i.e., those with more than ten milking cows. The current study aims at estimating the herd and average individual animal prevalence of brucellosis in the national beef cattle herds, the missing information that was essential to propose the most appropriate control measures for this sub-population. Rose Bengal Test (RBT), Fluorescence Polarization Assay (FPA), and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were used as serological tests and classical bacteriology for isolation. Results were also used to investigate the difference in sensitivity between the assays used. In total, 655 animals from 38 beef cattle herds from six southern districts of Albania were sampled. Sera were tested using RBT, FPA, and ELISA. Fifteen positive cows and a bull from eight high-prevalence positive herds were slaughtered, and particular tissue samples were collected for bacteriology. The overall herd seroprevalence in the tested beef cattle population was 55%, while the overall average within-herd prevalence (including only positive herds) was 38.3%, 42.7%, and 45.6% determined by the RBT, ELISA, and FPA, respectively. FPA was used for the first time in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in Albania, and its sensitivity was higher than RBT and ELISA. Three B. abortus strains were identified, two from the supra-mammary lymph node of two cows and one from the epididymis of a seropositive bull. Brucellosis was highly prevalent in beef cattle in the southern part of Albania, and B. abortus was isolated from this subpopulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first statistically based survey of bovine brucellosis in beef herds in Albania. Using the FPA in parallel with other serological tests improved overall diagnostic sensitivity. Test and slaughter policy is not a rational approach for the control of brucellosis in beef cattle in Albania, and vaccination is only applicable, including strict control of the movement of animals.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important bacterial infectious disease in Albania of concern to animal and human health; its prevalence is poorly documented. In this longitudinal study, we tested by ELISA 2661 serum samples, from 154 herds, with the aim of establishing the suitability of this approach to screen the bovine population for bTB. In a follow-on survey of 87 animals in three villages, we assessed the usefulness of the Mycobacterium bovis IDEXX ELISA (IDEXX M. bovis Antibody (Ab) Test. IDEXX Europe B.V P.O. Box 1334, 2130 EK Hoofddorp, The Netherlands) assay by comparing IDEXX results with the results of the single intradermal cervical skin test. Skin tests were performed either after or at the time of collection of blood samples, and therefore cattle were not sensitized by tuberculin before serological testing. The proportion of herds in which serologically positive cattle were found was 18.2 % (95 % CI, 1.9–25.8 %) and the prevalence of seropositive cattle was 1.4 % (95 % CI, 0.8–2.1 %). In the follow-up study, two of the 87 animals reacted positively to the skin test and two produced inconclusive reactions. No overlap was found between the four animals with positive IDEXX ELISA results and the four animals with non-negative skin test results. The lack of agreement between the results of the two tests may reflect different elements of the immune response (humoral and cell-mediated immunity). In future, cattle should be sensitized by the intradermal injection of tuberculin 14 days prior to the collection of blood samples, which would then be tested by the Mycobacterium bovis IDEXX ELISA Test in order to determine more accurately the prevalence of infection.

Agriculture is an important production sector in Albania that makes a significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. The livestock sector contributes more than half of the agricultural GDP. The Albanian cattle population represents 50% of the total livestock units and accounts for 85% of the national milk production, the rest being supplied by small ruminants. Cattle productivity, health and welfare are hindered by infectious diseases, some of which are also transmissible to humans (zoonosis). The aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the control of selected regulated and non-EU regulated cattle diseases in Albania and to highlight specific challenges for the Albanian cattle industry. The most important infectious cattle diseases in Albania for which national control and eradication strategies are in place are bovine brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, and anthrax, which are all zoonotic. Additionally, lumpy skin disease recently emerged in the Balkan region and is currently subject to controls. Most of the available funds and European Union support are allocated to the control of EU regulated zoonotic diseases. For control of non-EU regulated cattle diseases, no funds are available resulting in the lack of national control programmes (CPs). Based on research, clinical investigations and laboratory results, several non-EU regulated cattle infectious diseases appear endemic in Albanian dairy farms. While no national CPs exist for any of them, regional initiatives are available on a voluntary basis to control infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhea. In the voluntary CPs, there is no monitored requirement to prove disease freedom of purchased animals and to re-evaluate the herd's free status after the introduction of animals into a herd. Data on animal movements that are routinely collected could potentially be used to control the risk of purchase, but quality needs to be further improved to increase its usefulness in disease CPs. This overview aims to collate existing information on the CPs implemented in Albania and to evaluate these to highlight gaps and threats in disease control, as well as opportunities and strengths through a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, with the goal of providing a framework for the future implementation of animal disease control measures in Albania.

Trace elements, which may have harmful health effects, are present in the environment at varying concentrations. In Albania, data on exposure risks are limited. This study aimed to assess and compare the concentrations of various trace elements (aluminum, arsenic, boron, calcium, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc) in the hair of cattle and sheep raised in Central Albania (Tirana and Elbasan Counties). Hair samples were collected from 25 cattle and 25 sheep per county and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy. Zinc concentrations were significantly higher in cattle than in sheep (p = 0.029), while no differences were observed between counties (p > 0.05), indicating similar environmental conditions. Copper (17.84, 95%CI: 13.63–16.34 and 15.84, 95%CI: 14.00–17.69 mg/kg in cattle, and 15.58, 95%CI: 13.61–17.56 and 14.14, 95%CI: 12.07–16.20 mg/kg in sheep, in Elbasan and Tirana County, respectively), arsenic (2.08, 95%CI: 1.45–1.21 and 1.51, 95%CI: 1.19–1.81 mg/kg in cattle, 1.73, 95%CI: 1.38–2.07 and 1.39, 95%CI: 1.02–1.75 mg/kg in sheep, in Elbasan and Tirana County, respectively), and cadmium (2.36, 95%CI: 1.63–2.07 and 2.00, 95%CI: 1.68–2.32 mg/kg in cattle, 2.00, 95%CI: 1.59–2.40 and 1.71, 95%CI: 1.39–2.02 mg/kg in sheep, in Elbasan and Tirana County, respectively) concentrations exceeded the values reported in the literature, likely due to contamination from local mining and metal processing activities. Further research is needed to determine the sources of contamination and assess potential risks to animal and human health.

Background: Scenario tree modelling is a well-known method used to evaluate the confidence of freedom from infection or to assess the sensitivity of a surveillance system in detecting an infection at a certain design prevalence. It facilitates the use of data from various sources and the inclusion of risk factors into calculations, while still obtaining quantitative estimates of surveillance sensitivity and probability of freedom. Objectives: We conducted a scoping review to identify scenario tree models (STMs) applied to assess freedom from infection in veterinary medicine, characterize their use, parameterisation, reporting and potential limitations. Eligibility criteria: We included published scientific articles and grey literature that were a) neither reviews nor expert opinions, b) aimed to assess freedom from infection, provided methods to assess it, or aimed to estimate the sensitivity of a surveillance program for early detection of an infection at a design prevalence, c) targeted infection in animals and d) used scenario tree modelling. The search covered documents published between January 2006 and August 2021. Design: Several search methods were used to retrieve scientific articles and grey literature relevant to the subject. The search strategy included searching in scientific databases and/or grey literature repositories, contacting experts across the world that previously worked with STMs and retrieving citations from relevant reviews. Results and discussion: Four hundred twenty-four distinct documents were retrieved with our search string. After screening, data was extracted from 99 documents representing 67 projects. Forty different animal diseases were modelled with STMs, the most represented being infections with tuberculous Mycobacterium sp., Avian Influenza A virus and Brucella sp. STMs were mostly used for diseases of cattle, swine and wild mammals. Results showed that STMs were used in a large variety of studies, are very versatile and were used in disparate frameworks. However, we also found that studies are not reported in a standardized way and often lack important information. This makes results hard to interpret, compare and reproduce. Additionally, we identified common assumptions and misconceptions, the most important ones regarding sensitivity and specificity, which could have an impact on the results of the studies using STMs. Conclusion: We recommend the elaboration of internationally agreed guidelines about how to report results from STMs in a uniform manner. Such guidelines should include information on the study setting, procedures and analyses, but also on how the results could be interpreted concerning freedom from infection.

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) reduces both milk production and milk quality. In this study, the prevalence of SCM, as determined by the California Mastitis Test (CMT), was analyzed in relation to lactation year, milk density, lactose content, electrical conductivity, and fat content at both the individual cow level and the farm level. The focus was on the overall prevalence of CMT-positive cases within the farms and the mean values of physicochemical changes in milk for each farm. A total of 711 udder quarters from 178 Holstein cows across nine dairy farms were sampled at three intervals during lactation (i.e., in three lactation periods). The number of cows per farm ranged from 21 to 140, covering various lactation stages. A CMT score of 1+ in any quarter was considered SCM-positive. The significance and correlation of SCM’s impact on changes in physicochemical milk parameters were analyzed using a robust compound regression. Prevalence of SCM was found to be between 0.14 and 0.63. High prevalence of SCM showed a significant increase in milk conductivity and a significant decrease in milk lactose, protein, solid non-fat (SNF) content, and density. The prevalence of mild and severe SCM varied across different seasons and lactation stages (p<0.05). Significant correlations (p<0.05) between lactation year, lactose content, electrical conductivity, SNF content, and protein were measured at the farm level using a milk analyzer and compared with SCM (R2=0.28; R2=0.41; R2=0.26; R2=0.36; R2=0.39). These findings suggest that physicochemical milk parameters, which are routinely measured in Albanian dairies, can serve as an effective early-warning indicator for dairy farms to detect potential cases of SCM.