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.