The evolution of rabies viruses of predominantly European origin was studied by comparing nucleotide sequences of the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes, and by typing isolates using RFLP. Phylogenetic analysis of the gene sequence data revealed a number of distinct groups, each associated with a particular geographical area. Such a pattern suggests that rabies virus has spread westwards and southwards across Europe during this century, but that physical barriers such as the Vistula river in Poland have enabled localized evolution. During this dispersal process, two species jumps took place -one into red foxes and another into raccoon dogs, although it is unclear whether virus strains are preferentially adapted to particular animal species or whether ecological forces explain the occurrence of the phylogenetic groups.

Rabies is a notifiable disease in animals in the European Union. Despite the existence of several recommendations made by international organizations for rabies control, surveillance and monitoring of rabies in animals vary greatly between Member States. In this report recommendations are proposed for improving and harmonising rabies surveillance and reporting in animals in Europe. An adequate system of surveillance should be in place in all countries, whatever the rabies status (rabies-free and infected countries). Surveillance should be evenly distributed in time and space and should target animals suspected of having contracted the disease. All countries should report both positive and negative results of rabies diagnosis. For countries involved in oral rabies vaccination programmes (infected as well as rabies-free countries), the monitoring of rabies vaccination, based on investigating hunted animals from vaccinated areas, should be undertaken for assessing the efficacy of these programmes. The standardisation of diagnostic reference techniques and new confirmatory tests (such as Polymerase Chain Reaction) used in European Union is recommended. A national bat rabies surveillance network should be established in all European countries based on the testing of sick, rabies-suspect or dead bats of all bat species for lyssavirus infections. The Rabies Bulletin Europe is recommended as the basis for the reporting scheme of animal rabies in Europe with additional information to improve the existing data collection system and monitoring of rabies trends over time. Veterinary authorities should also report cases regularly to the OIE database interface.

IntroductionSince April 2020, when the first SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported in mink and subsequently in mink farm workers in the Netherlands, it has been confirmed that human-to-mink and mink-to-human transmission can occur. Later, SARS-CoV-2 infections in mink were reported in many European and North American countries.Material and methodsSamples from 590 mink from a total of 28 farms were tested by real-time RT-PCR. Whole genome sequences from one positive farm were generated and genetic relatedness was established.ResultsSARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected on a breeder farm with stock of 5,850 mink. Active viraemia was confirmed in individually tested samples with Ct values respectively between 19.4 and 29.6 for E and N gene fragments. Further testing of samples from culled animals revealed 70% positivity in throat swabs and 30% seropositivity in blood samples. Phylogenetic analysis of full-length nucleotide sequences of two SARS-CoV-2 isolates revealed that they belong to the 20B Nextstrain clade. Several nucleotide mutations were found in analysed samples compared to the reference Wuhan HU-1 strain and some of them were nonsynonymous.ConclusionWe report the infection of mink with SARS-CoV-2 on one farm in Poland and the results of subsequent analysis of virus sequences from two isolates. These data can be useful for assessment of the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in Poland and how it endangers public health.

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Here, we present the first detected cases of bluetongue virus (BTV) in native cattle from Poland. The virus was found in animals located near the Polish-Belarusian and Polish-Lithuanian borders. The positive animals were detected through an official epidemiological surveillance program. A combination of type-specific real-time RT-PCR and phylogenetic tests revealed the presence of BTV serotype 14 (BTV-14). This serotype is highly homologous to the vaccine strain and BTV-14 present in Russia, Lithuania, and Spain (from an animal imported from Lithuania). The most probable route of virus introduction to Poland was transmission through midges. All of the cases were subclinical.

BackgroundBiting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are small hematophagous insects responsible for the transmission of bluetongue virus, Schmallenberg virus and African horse sickness virus to wild and domestic ruminants and equids. Outbreaks of these viruses have caused economic damage within the European Union. The spatio-temporal distribution of biting midges is a key factor in identifying areas with the potential for disease spread. The aim of this study was to identify and map areas of neglectable adult activity for each month in an average year. Average monthly risk maps can be used as a tool when allocating resources for surveillance and control programs within Europe.MethodsWe modelled the occurrence of C. imicola and the Obsoletus and Pulicaris ensembles using existing entomological surveillance data from Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Poland. The monthly probability of each vector species and ensembles being present in Europe based on climatic and environmental input variables was estimated with the machine learning technique Random Forest. Subsequently, the monthly probability was classified into three classes: Absence, Presence and Uncertain status. These three classes are useful for mapping areas of no risk, areas of high-risk targeted for animal movement restrictions, and areas with an uncertain status that need active entomological surveillance to determine whether or not vectors are present.ResultsThe distribution of Culicoides species ensembles were in agreement with their previously reported distribution in Europe. The Random Forest models were very accurate in predicting the probability of presence for C. imicola (mean AUC = 0.95), less accurate for the Obsoletus ensemble (mean AUC = 0.84), while the lowest accuracy was found for the Pulicaris ensemble (mean AUC = 0.71). The most important environmental variables in the models were related to temperature and precipitation for all three groups.ConclusionsThe duration periods with low or null adult activity can be derived from the associated monthly distribution maps, and it was also possible to identify and map areas with uncertain predictions. In the absence of ongoing vector surveillance, these maps can be used by veterinary authorities to classify areas as likely vector-free or as likely risk areas from southern Spain to northern Sweden with acceptable precision. The maps can also focus costly entomological surveillance to seasons and areas where the predictions and vector-free status remain uncertain.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3182-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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To investigate the circulation of rabies virus in Ukraine, 78 rabies virus isolates were acquired from 14 states in 2002 and 2008-2010 for characterization. Partial sequences of nucleoprotein (359 nt) and glycoprotein (344 nt) genes were compared with those from neighbouring countries. The analysis identified 39 unique nucleoprotein genes and two geographically distinct RV variants belonging to the cosmopolitan lineage. The Ukrainian samples were similar to the North-East European lineage (NEE) (n = 19) and Russian group C (n = 20). The group C viruses were mainly isolated in Eastern Ukraine, from 9 regions, and from two other regions in Western Ukraine, suggesting the presence of group C throughout the country. These group C viruses are intermixed in bordering regions along the Dnieper River with viruses of group NEE, which were mainly isolated in six regions in Western Ukraine. Both nucleoprotein and glycoprotein gene analyses suggested evidence for cross-border movements of rabies virus.