This study reports on a fatal case of a captive great grey owl infected with the West Nile virus (WNV) in the zoological garden Košice, eastern Slovakia (Central Europe). The tissue samples of the dead owl were used for virus isolation and genetic characterization. The novel isolate is genetically closer to Hungarian, Greek, and Bulgarian strains from the central/southern European clade of lineage 2 than to the strains previously isolated in Slovakia. Interestingly, it carries NS3-249P, a molecular virulence determinant associated with higher neurovirulence, which has not previously been observed in Slovakia. Subsequent serological investigation of the captive owls revealed additional seropositive animals, indicating local WNV transmission. Although no WNV-positive mosquitoes were found, the presence of the WNV principal vector Culex pipiens complex together with the described fatal case and further serological findings indicate an endemic focus of bird-neurovirulent WNV variant in the area.

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were captured in the course of three seasons (2017–2020) in the Zoo Košice. The total number of captured individuals was 5,667 biting midges, and 12 species of Culicoides were identified, while the most frequently captured and the most populous species were C. obsoletus/C. scoticus, C. furcillatus, and C. festivipennis. The most frequent hosts on which the biting midges were blood-feeding were humans (Homo sapiens), Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii), and domestic cow (Bos taurus). This is the first study to confirm a wide range of biting midges species in a zoo which are capable of using not only animals as their hosts, but also humans, in whom a bite may induce an allergic reaction. More than 80% of the fauna of biting midges in the Zoo Košice represented Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, which are in the Central Europe regarded as the potential vectors of arboviruses, to which primarily ruminants are highly susceptible.

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were captured in the course of three seasons (2017–2020) in the Zoo Košice. The total number of captured individuals was 5,667 biting midges, and 12 species of Culicoides were identified, while the most frequently captured and the most populous species were C. obsoletus/C. scoticus, C. furcillatus, and C. festivipennis. The most frequent hosts on which the biting midges were blood-feeding were humans (Homo sapiens), Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii), and domestic cow (Bos taurus). This is the first study to confirm a wide range of biting midges species in a zoo which are capable of using not only animals as their hosts, but also humans, in whom a bite may induce an allergic reaction. More than 80% of the fauna of biting midges in the Zoo Košice represented Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, which are in the Central Europe regarded as the potential vectors of arboviruses, to which primarily ruminants are highly susceptible.