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Review
. 2021 Jan 15;10(1):73.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens10010073.

Emerging and Neglected Viruses of Zoonotic Importance in Croatia

Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek  1   2 , Ljubo Barbic  3 , Anna Mrzljak  2   4 , Dragan Brnic  5 , Ana Klobucar  6 , Maja Ilic  7 , Natasa Janev-Holcer  8 , Maja Bogdanic  1 , Lorena Jemersic  5 , Vladimir Stevanovic  3 , Irena Tabain  1 , Stjepan Krcmar  9 , Marko Vucelja  10 , Jelena Prpic  5 , Marko Boljfetic  10 , Pavle Jelicic  8 , Josip Madic  3 , Ivana Ferencak  1 , Vladimir Savic  11
Affiliations
Review

Emerging and Neglected Viruses of Zoonotic Importance in Croatia

Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Several arboviruses have emerged in Croatia in recent years. Tick-borne encephalitis is endemic in continental counties; however, new natural micro-foci have been detected. Two autochthonous dengue cases were reported in 2010. West Nile virus emerged in 2012, followed by emergence of Usutu virus in 2013. Although high seroprevalence rates of Toscana virus have been detected among residents of Croatian littoral, the virus remains neglected, with only a few clinical cases of neuroinvasive infections reported. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is a neglected neuroinvasive rodent-borne virus. So far, there are no reports on human clinical cases; however, the seroprevalence studies indicate the virus presence in the Croatian mainland. Puumala and Dobrava hantaviruses are widely distributing rodent-borne viruses with sporadic and epidemic occurrence. Hepatitis E virus is an emerging food-borne virus in Croatia. After the emergence in 2012, cases were regularly recorded. Seropositivity varies greatly by region and population group. Rotaviruses represent a significant healthcare burden since rotavirus vaccination is not included in the Croatian national immunization program. Additionally, rotaviruses are widely distributed in the Croatian ecosystem. A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in February 2020 and spread rapidly throughout the country. This review focuses on emerging and neglected viruses of zoonotic importance detected in Croatia.

Keywords: Croatia; SARS-CoV-2; arboviruses; epidemiology; hepatitis E virus; rabies virus; rodent-borne viruses; rotaviruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Seasonal (left) and geographic distribution (right) of neuroinvasive arboviral infections in Croatia (2017–2020). Within the arbovirus surveillance program (project CRONEUROARBO), four neuroinvasive arboviruses were detected: TBEV, WNV, USUV, and TOSV. Circle size corresponds to the number of reported human cases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic neighbor-joining analysis of a 174-nucleotide fragment of the TBEV 5′-NTR and partial capsid gene. Strains detected in Croatia are marked in red with year of detection in parentheses and indicated figure of the host. Alkhurma virus was included as an outgroup. GenBank accession number for each isolate used in the analysis is specified. Supporting (≥50%) bootstrap values of 1000 replicates are displayed at the nodes. Horizontal distances are proportional to genetic distance. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic neighbor-joining analysis of a 848-nucleotide fragment of the WNV NS5 gene. Strains detected in Croatia are marked in red with year of detection in parentheses and indicated figure of the host. GenBank accession numbers for isolates used in the analysis are specified where appropriate. WNV genetic lineages suggested by Rizzoli et al. [84] are indicated on the right. Lineages 5 and 7 could not be included in the analysis due to only partial sequence availability. Supporting (≥50%) bootstrap values of 1000 replicates are displayed at the nodes. Horizontal distances are proportional to genetic distance. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Phylogenetic neighbor-joining analysis of a 543-nucleotide fragment of the USUV NS5 gene. Strains detected in Croatia are marked in red with year of detection in parentheses and indicated figure of the host. GenBank accession number for each isolate used in the analysis is specified. USUV genetic lineages suggested by Cadar et al. [86] are indicated on the right. The highly divergent Africa 1 genetic lineage was not included in the analysis in order to increase the resolution of the phylogram. Supporting (≥50%) bootstrap values of 1000 replicates are displayed at the nodes. Horizontal distances are proportional to genetic distance. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Phylogenetic neighbor-joining analysis of a 321-nucleotide fragment of the TOSV nucleoprotein gene. Strains detected in Croatia are marked in red with year of detection in parentheses and indicated figure of the host. GenBank accession number for each isolate used in the analysis is specified. SFNV was included as an outgroup. Supporting (≥50%) bootstrap values of 1000 replicates are displayed at the nodes. Horizontal distances are proportional to genetic distance. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Number of reported HFRS cases in Croatia (1986–2018).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Monitoring of small rodents in Croatian state-owned forests (1980–2018).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Phylogenetic neighbor-joining analysis of a 286-nucleotide fragment of the VP7 gene of G10 RVA strains. Strains detected in Croatia are marked in red with the indicated figure of the host. GenBank accession number for each isolate used in the analysis is specified. Supporting (≥50%) bootstrap values of 1000 replicates are displayed at the nodes. Horizontal distances are proportional to genetic distance. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.
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