Despite being a small country, Kosovo represents one of the few foci of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Europe. The distribution of Kosovar tick vectors and the evolution of CCHF virus in ticks are both as yet unknown. A better description of the extent and the genetic diversity of CCHFV in ticks from endemic settings is essential, in order to be controlled. We investigated the 2012 distribution of Kosovar ticks alongside the prevalence and the phylogeography of tick-derived CCHFV. Hyalomma marginatum dominated in the endemic municipalities with 90.2% versus 24.3% in the non-endemic regions. Of 1,102 tested ticks, 40 (3.6%) were CCHFV-positive, belonging to H. marginatum (29), Rhipicephalus bursa (10), and Ixodes ricinus (1). The virus strains clustered with clade V and VI related sequences. They fell into two lineages: Kosovo I and II. Kosovo I comprised strains recovered exclusively from R. bursa ticks and was closely related to AP92 prototype strain. Kosovo II clustered into Kosovo IIa, including human-derived strains, and IIb including only strains detected in H. marginatum and I. ricinus. Our phylogeographic reconstruction suggests two temporally distinct CCHFV introductions: the most probable location of the most recent common ancestor of Kosovo I lineage was in Greece (63 years ago) and that of lineages IIa-b in Turkey (35 years ago). After each CCHFV introduction into Kosovo, subsequent lineage expansions suggest periods of in situ evolution. The study provides the first insight into the genetic variability and the origin of CCHFV in ticks from Kosovo. Our findings indicate the spreading of CCHFV to non-endemic areas, which underlines the importance of further studies in order to monitor and predict future CCHF outbreaks in Kosovo. The AP92-like strains appear to be more widespread than previously thought and may provide a promising target for experimental studies due to their assumed low pathogenicity.

BackgroundThe poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae (D.g.) is a serious ectoparasitic pest of poultry and potential pathogen vector. The prevalence of D. g. and the prevalence of Salmonella spp. within mites on infested laying poultry farms were investigated in Kosovo.FindingsIn total, 14 populated layer farms located in the Southern Kosovo were assessed for D. g. presence. Another two farms in this region were investigated 6 months after depopulation. Investigated flocks were all maintained in cages, a common housing system in Kosovo. A total of eight farms were found to be infested with D. g. (50%) at varying levels, including the two depopulated farms. The detection of Salmonella spp. from D. g. was carried out using PCR. Out of the eight layer farms infested with D. g., Salmonella spp. was present in mites on three farms (37.5%).ConclusionsThis study confirms the high prevalence of D. g. in layer flocks in Kosovo and demonstrates the link between this mite and the presence of Salmonella spp. on infested farms.

Introduction: Milk is considered to be a healthy, nutritious food product. Microbiological quality is an important aspect in evaluating the quality of milk. Methodology: A total of 603 bulk tank milk samples from 221 farms distributed across ten different regions were collected for milk quality assessment. Quality was judged by total viable count, and the prevalence of two foodborne pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus) by using selective media and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The presence of virulence genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. Results: Milk from only 7% (15/221) of farms were found to comply with the European Union standard. Interestingly, the microbiological quality of milk from the larger herd size farms (more than 10 cows) was better than in smaller herds. L. monocytogenes was found in 2.7% (6/221) of farms, and all the examined L. monocytogenes isolates were positive with respect to the virulence genes prfA, actA, and hlyA. S. aureus was found in 39.8% (88/221) of the farms. In total, 30.7% (27/88) of the staphylococci were positive for enterotoxin production. The enterotoxins identified were toxin B (40.7%), toxin D (33.4%), toxin C (18.5%), and toxin A (7.4%). Conclusions: The total number of bacteria in milk was very high. The presence of two foodborne pathogens in raw milk represents a great health risk to consumers. To improve the microbial quality of milk in Kosovo, important measures to improve hygiene, including better information, guidance, and control, are needed.

In Kosovo, a new regulation on quality standards and grade of fresh milk is valid since January 1, 2007. The regulation was based on the respective EU-regulation and has an ambitious time frame with a transition period of only three years. In order to estimate the impact of this new regulation, a survey on the quality of raw milk delivered to the Kosovar dairies was carried out from January to May 2007. The aim was to get a reliable picture of the current raw milk quality in the dairy channel in Kosovo, to discuss the findings with the relevant actors of the dairy sector and the government, and to draw the necessary conclusions. In total 364 milk samples, from the leading 14 dairies constitute the basis for the statistical analyses of this study. The four most important parameters of raw milk quality: TBC, SCC, FP and AB were analyzed. Regarding TBC, the results show that around 20% of samples meet the Kosovo standard 2008 (< 500,000 CFU/ml) and only around 10% meet the (higher) Kosovo standard 2009 (<100,000 CFU/ml) while for SCC, around 80% of the samples meet the Kosovo standard 2008 (<600,000 cells/ml) and 66% meet the (higher) Kosovo standard 2009 (<400,000 cells/ml). Therefore at the moment the problem of high microbiological content is more prominent than the one of high somatic cell count. Beside this, in one third of the samples, the freezing point is at least questionable. In 2.2% of the samples antibiotics could be proven—a major risk for public health. Raw milk quality in Kosovo still is very poor and must be improved in order the dairy processors be able to produce qualitatively good end products and therefore can compete with imported dairy products or export their products

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