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The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) in dairy cows in region of north Kosovo in the period of time from calving to conception. A total of 200 dairy cows were examined clinically for the presence of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) on service period in Dairy Cows in Kosovo. 25 out of 200 cows have been affected by BDD. The prevalence of this condition was evaluated, and the time of successful insemination was surveyed. The most affected numbers of animals were first parity heifers 11 or 44 %, CI 95% (26.67 to 62.93), second parity 06 or 24 %, CI 95% (11.5 to 43.43), third parity 04 or 16 %, CI 95% (6.40 to 34.65), fourth parity 03 or 12 %, CI 95% (4.16 to 29.95) as well as fifth parity with 03 or 12 %, CI 95% (4.16 to 29.95). Our study revealed that the hind legs were mostly affected than the front legs. 64 % of the pathologies were detected in the hind legs and 36 % in the front legs. The affected cows were successfully inseminated 127, 2 ± 14.42 days after parturition. This study shows on how important is the health management of the farms and farmers are often not cautious about the consequences.

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to detect the presence of small ruminant lentiviral infections in Kosovo and estimate the serological prevalence for the year of 2016 . A total of 5.272 sheep and 435 goats were tested using a commercially available indirect enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Maedi-Visna/Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis, giving an overall individual sero-prevalence in sheep of 34.8% (95% confidence interval 31.8% to 38.0%), and a flock prevalence of 85%, and in goats an overall individual sero-prevalence of 15.6% (95% confidence interval 7.2% to 25.6%) and flock prevalence of 35%. Sero-prevalence in sheep was higher in the South and West of Kosovo, whereas in goats was higher in the East and South. There were no statistically significant differences in sero-prevalence between sheep in different age groups

In this study, we report an abortion outbreak in a ruminant herd consisting of goats, sheep, and cows, with scenarios in two consecutive years. In early 2017, abortions occurred in ∼70% of goats and 66% tested positive for Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) and 40% of goats were positive for Chlamydophila abortus (C. abortus). In February 2018, the same herd reported an abortion rate of 75%, with 55% positive for C. burnetii, 36% for C. abortus, and 22% for Toxoplasma gondii. Six goat milk samples were positive for C. burnetii by molecular analysis. Three family members were positive for C. burnetii. C. burnetii could be considered as the main cause of abortions in the first and second year. Animals that undergo an infection and abortion are prone to secondary infections. Vaccination or other rapid interventions should be initiated to protect animals and humans.

In the past decade, leishmaniasis seems to be re-emerging in Balkan countries. There are serious implications that Kosovo is a visceral leishmaniasis endemic region with autochthonous transmission; nevertheless, surveillance of vectors, reservoirs or the disease is not yet established. Gaining knowledge about sandfly vector species is a prerequisite for the development of a monitoring and control plan in the future. After a long gap in research of over 70 years, sandfly studies in Kosovo were resumed in 2014. During this presence/absence study, nine sandfly species were detected: Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. tobbi, Ph. neglectus, Ph. simici, Ph. balcanicus, Ph. alexandri, Ph. mascittii and Sergentomyia minuta. Three species are new with regard to the fauna of Kosovo - Ph. alexandri, Ph. balcanicus and Ph. mascittii. Besides increased diversity, changes in the number of collected specimens and distribution range of species were recorded, with Ph. neglectus being the most dominant species with the widest distribution. Testing of randomly chosen females for Leishmania spp. DNA resulted the in detection of L. tropica in a specimen of Ph. neglectus. the presence of numerous vector species in the sandfly fauna of Kosovo pose a threat for the re-emergence of vector-borne diseases. Therefore, continuous surveillance is recommended with regular updates on vector distribution and abundance., EurNegVec COST ActionEuropean Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) [TD1303]; VectorNet project - European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) contract [OC/FSA/AHAW/2013/02-FWC1]; European Virus Archive goes Global project (EVAg) - European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [653316]; Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia [III43007, TR31084]; European Commission, Horizon 2020 Infrastructure Infravec2 projectEuropean Commission, The authors express their gratitude to Vid Srdic who designed the map for this manuscript. the work of Slavica Vaselek, Yusuf Ozbel, Bulen Alten and Dusan Petric was carried out under the frame of EurNegVec COST Action TD1303. the work was supported by VectorNet project funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) contract OC/FSA/AHAW/2013/02-FWC1; European Virus Archive goes Global project (EVAg) funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 653316); and projects III43007 and TR31084 financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia and European Commission, Horizon 2020 Infrastructure Infravec2 project (https://infravec2.eu).

SUMMARYEchinococcus granulosus sensu latu (s.l.) and Taenia hydatigena are common parasites of ruminant intermediate hosts in the Balkans. Transmission is linked mainly to home slaughtering and the feeding of infected organs to dogs. In Kosovo, many old sheep are slaughtered particularly during Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). To determine whether this tradition could affect parasite transmission, we compared the probability of 504 dogs to contract taenid infections after deworming during one period before Eid al-Adha and a similar period beginning with this event. Initially, taeniid eggs were detected in 6·2% (CI 4·2–8·6) of the dogs. The prevalence before Eid al-Adha was significantly lower (1·2%, CI 0·4–2·6) as compared with the prevalence after the event (4·3%, CI 2·6–6·3). A comparable trend was apparent at species level for T. hydatigena and E. granulosus. These results indicate that the pronounced increase of taeniid infections, including E. granulosus s.l., after Eid al-Adha is linked to traditional home slaughtering that occurs during this celebration. This particular epidemiological situation provides an opportunity for implementing focussed control activities.

Canine Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum is endemic in Mediterranean countries. The disease represents an important public health issue in Kosovo in which the autochthonous cases by humans were reported in the last years. The objective of this study was to survey the serological and clinical data of Canine Leishmaniasis in dogs in southwestern region of Kosovo. The blood samples were collected from stray dogs in four municipalities, respectively Prizren, Gjakova, Rahovec and Deçan. The total 125 samples were collected between April/September 2016. Antibodies of Leishmania infantum were detected by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA IgG). Out of total 125 serum samples, 23 dogs (18.4%) were positive for Leishmania infantum. In three of 23 infected dogs (13%) were shown the clinical signs of Canine Leishmaniasis as skin and ocular lesions, decreased appetite, lameness, diarrhea, lethargy and progressive weight loss. The highest infection rate was detected in Prizren municipality (21.6%), followed by Gjakova (17.6%), Rahovec (17.1%) and Deçan (7.8%). The present study confirmed that the Leishmaniasis is endemic in southwestern part of Kosovo and emphasized the need to establish the surveillance and control of this disease.