Veterinarska stanica, Vol. 53 No. 6, 2022.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.46419/vs.53.6.6
Monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in the Republic of Croatia
Karmen Branović Čakanić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Branko Šoštarić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Željko Mihaljević
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Šimun Naletilić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Nina Bilandžić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Dunja Vlahović
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Antonela Bagarić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Andreja Jungić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Dragan Brnić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Katja Vretenar Špigelski
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Tihana Miškić
; Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate for Veterinary and Food Safety, Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Kiš
; Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate for Veterinary and Food Safety, Zagreb, Croatia
Žaklin Acinger Rogić
; Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate for Veterinary and Food Safety, Zagreb, Croatia
Sanja Šeparović
; Altmond d.o.o. Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopa¬thies are a group of rare and progressive neu¬rodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals. Transmissible spongiform en¬cephalopathies are caused by a transmissible agent called a prion (proteinaceous infectious particle). Although these infections typically re¬main asymptomatic for a long time, the disease is always progressive with an inevitably lethal outcome. Transmissible spongiform encepha¬lopathies include: classical and atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, classical and atypical scrapie in sheep and goats, chronic wasting disease, transmissible mink encepha¬lopathy, feline spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheink¬er syndrome, Fatal familial insomnia, and kuru. Transmissible spongiform encephalopa¬thy in sheep was first recognised almost three centuries ago and the disease was widely stud¬ied during the 20th century. The bovine spongi¬form encephalopathy epidemic in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s prompted more extensive research, which led to the discovery that the causative agent of disease is a protein-aceous particle called a prion. A prion is a nor¬mal cellular protein found mostly on the sur¬face on neurons and other cells throughout the body, but transforms to cause disease as the result of changes in the biochemical process during protein synthesis, though this process has been poorly understood. This article pres¬ents the results of monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in Croatia from 2001 until the end of 2021. Systematic monitor¬ing of bovine spongiform encephalopathy be¬gan in 2001, while monitoring for scrapie began in 2002. Until the end of 2021, 454,822 samples of bovine brain tissue were tested and no posi¬tives were found. In scrapie monitoring, 25,332 brain tissue samples were screened and no positives to classical scrapie were found, how¬ever four atypical scrapie cases in sheep were detected. Based on all implemented activities and bovine spongiform encephalopathy sur¬veillance, the Republic of Croatia achieved the status of bovine spongiform encephalopathy negligible risk, the highest possible status ac¬cording to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
272376
URI
Publication date:
16.1.2022.
Visits: 670 *