The first case of African swine fever in domestic pigs in Serbia was in 2019. The following year, the disease was confirmed in wild boar. Thenceforth, ASF has been continuously reported in both wild and domestic pigs. The outbreaks in domestic pigs could not be linked directly to wild boars, even though wild boars were endemically infected, and reservoirs for ASF. This study aimed to investigate outbreaks and routes of transmission in domestic pigs in a region of central Serbia where no outbreaks in wild boar were reported. Fourteen outbreaks of ASF on backyard farms with low biosecurity were traced back, and no connection to wild boar was found. The epidemic investigation covered 2094 holdings, with 24,368 pigs, out of which 1882 were tested for ASF. In surrounding hunting grounds, field searches were conducted. Dead wild boars were found, and 138 hunted wild boars were negative for ASFV. It was concluded that outbreaks in 2021 were provoked by the illegal trade of live animals and pig products. Even though infective pressure from wild boars is assumed, no positive cases have been found, while the ASFV spreads within the domestic swine population evidenced in four recent outbreaks in 2022.

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A female mouflon, weighing 40 kilograms, was submitted to the diagnostic laboratory of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia for determining the potential cause of death. Necropsy revealed massive hemorrhages in subcutaneous and intermuscular tissue and on papillary muscle. Petechiae and ecchymoses were found on the omentum, mesentery and adipose tissue of heart, kidney and costal pleura. Haemorrhagic-necrotic enteritis in duodenum and jejunum was characterized by catarrhal hemorrhagic inflammation with the presence of mucous and bloody content, whereas gas bubbles in the submucosa have also been confirmed. Bacterial cultures from sampled organs were identified as Clostridium perfringens type A, Clostridium septicum, and Clostridium sordelli. Based on the established pathological and histological changes and the results of the bacteriological, biochemical, and molecular examination, the state of septic shock and toxemia with disseminated massive bleeding was  the immediate cause of mouflon death. The septic condition is a consequence of enterotoxemia caused by Clostridium perfringens type A, Clostridium septicum, and Clostridium sordelli infection.

Rabies is a viral disease of the central nervous system of all warm‐blooded animals and one of the oldest and most important zoonoses. In the Republic of Serbia, rabies is controlled by compulsory vaccination of dogs and cats and oral vaccination of wild carnivores, which has been implemented since 2010. In the period 2009–2018, 367 rabies cases were recorded. The last rabies case in Serbia was recorded in 2018 in a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), while the last case in dogs was diagnosed in 2011. This study aimed to perform a retrospective phylogenetic analysis of G and N genes of the rabies virus from Serbia from 2009 to 2018 to understand sources and pathways of infection better and to enable molecular virus tracing in the future based on the association of rabies virus genetic lineages with the geographic distribution. For the phylogenetic analysis of the rabies virus, 14 historically positive brain samples of red foxes from 2009 to 2018, collected in central Serbia, were used. All field strains from Serbia were identified as classic rabies virus and grouped within the Cosmopolitan lineage. Phylogenetic analysis of N gene sequences revealed that 13 rabies virus strains (92.9%) from Serbia belonged to the EE sub‐lineage of isolates, while one virus (7.1%) ON988027 from 2011 clustered together with isolates from the WE sub‐lineage.