Background: According to the WHO (2019), more than 1.5 billion people worldwide are infected with soil-transmitted parasites. Previous research in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) was mainly conducted in the area of the Sarajevo Canton. Therefore, the aim of the research was to explore contamination of soil and vegetation with developmental forms of parasites in the other cantons of FB&H. Methods: Between Apr and Oct 2018, a total of 1,618 soil and vegetation samples were taken from 386 different locations in the 9 cantons of the FB&H. Results: Positive samples were observed, 65/66 (98.48%) municipalities/cities and on 239/386 (61.92%) locations. Out of 1,618 samples taken in total (1,263 soil samples and 355 vegetation samples), 357 (22.06%) were positive, out of which 337 (26.68%) and 20 (5.63%) were soil and plant samples, respectively. In total, the following adult and developmental forms were identified: Taeniidae eggs (7.30%), Toxocara spp. eggs (62.08%), Ancylostomatidae eggs (25.00%), Trichuris spp. eggs (9.55%), Capillaria spp. eggs (3.37%), Toxascaris leonina eggs (1.40%), Nematodes larvae (19.38%), Giardia duodenalis cysts (5.06%), Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts (1.4%), oocysts and cysts of different species of Protozoa (3.93%). Conclusion: The identified developmental forms of parasites pose a permanent threat to human health. It is necessary to carry out measures to reduce the contamination of soil and vegetation in coordination with systematic solutions (legislation), paralelly with contribution of animal owners, veterinarians, physicians, ecologists, parents and all the others involved in this issue.

Abstract More than 30 dog parasite species have been identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far, and half of these are zoonotic. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of parasitic infections in dogs from Bosnian-podrinje canton with a focus on zoonotic parasites. The study included 212 dogs (107 owned and 105 stray). One or more of the twenty parasite species were found in 82.55% of tested samples. Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Class Trematoda) was found in 0.94% of dogs. Dipylidium caninum and Mesocestoides lineatus (Class Cestoda) were found in 7.55% and 0.94% of dogs, respectively. Taenia spp. and Echinococcus spp. (Family Taeniidae) were found in 0.47% and 0.94% of samples, respectively. In the family of Nematoda, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Toxocara canis (25.94%), Toxascaris leonine (8.96%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.47%), Ancylostoma caninum (3.77%), Uncinaria stenocephala (52.36%), Trichuris vulpis (22.17%), Eucoleus aerophilus (1.42%), Dirofilaria immitis (1.89%) and Dirofilaria repens (1.42%). In the kingdom of Protozoa, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Cystoisospora canis (8.49%), C. ohioensis (2.36%), Cryptosporidium spp. (4.72%), Sarcocystis spp. (0.47%), Babesia spp. (5.19%), and Giardia duodenalis (15.57%). Leishmania infantum was not identified in tested samples. The results showed a high level of parasitic infestation in the dog population in the Bosnian-Podrinje canton, with a high occurrence of zoonotic parasites. Significant differences were found between owned and stray dogs for all classes of detected parasites with exception of the class Trematoda, disregarding specific parasite species.

Na vrijednosti hematoloških parametara značajan utjecaj mogu imati vrijeme uzorkovanja krvi u odnosu na vrijeme analize, ali i uvjeti skladištenja, poput temperature na kojoj se krv transportira do referentnog laboratorija. Odlaganje analize krvi može dovesti do znatnih promjena koje tada direktno utječu na interpretaciju dobivenih podataka te u konačnici mogu dovesti i do pogrešno postavljene dijagnoze. Poseban izazov u veterinarskoj medicini predstavljaju habitati divljih životinja, poput smeđeg medvjeda, koji se nalaze na velikim udaljenostima od referentnih laboratorija. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati promjene nekih hematoloških parametara, i to: vrijednosti broja eritrocita, vrijednosti broja leukocita, hematokritsku vrijednost, vrijednosti sadržaja hemoglobina, vrijednosti veličine prosječnog eritrocita, srednji sadržaj hemoglobina u eritrocitu te srednju koncentraciju hemoglobina u eritrocitima u krvi smeđeg medvjeda, a koja je skladištena tijekom 48 sati na različitim temperaturama, odnosno na temperaturi hladnjaka (4 °C) i na sobnoj temperaturi (24 °C). Krv je uzorkovana punkcijom v. jugularis nakon sedacije životinja kombinacijom metomidina, tiletamina i zolazepama. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno devet klinički zdravih smeđih medvjeda oba spola, starosti 3-5 godina te je određena vrijednost ispitivanih hematoloških parametara neposredno nakon uzorkovanja s ciljem određivanja bazičnih vrijednosti. Tijekom ispitivanog razdoblja u trajanju od 48 sati određene su vrijednosti ispitivanih parametara u intervalima (12h, 24h, 36h i 48h) u krvi skladištenoj na različitim temperaturama (4 °C i 24 °C). Rezultati našeg istraživanja su pokazali da se vrijednosti broja eritrocita i vrijednosti broja leukocita u krvi smeđeg medvjeda nisu statistički značajno razlikovale od bazičnih vrijednosti, ukoliko je krv skladištena na temperaturi od 4 °C, a analiza uzorka izvršena unutar razdoblja od 36 sati; što je određeno i u razdoblju unutar 24 sata od uzorkovanja kada su uzorci krvi pohranjeni na temperaturi od 24 °C. Vrijednost hematokrita nije pokazala statistički značajne razlike unutar 24 sata od uzorkovanja krvi te u navedenom intervalu temperatura skladištenja nije značajno utjecala na dobivene rezultate. Vrijednost koncentracije hemoglobina se već nakon 12 sati od uzorkovanja značajno razlikovala od bazičnih vrijednosti. Vrijednosti hematoloških indeksa određene našim istraživanjem pokazuju direktan odraz promjena vrijednosti ispitivanih hematoloških parametara.

Reptiles, especially turtles, are becoming increasingly popular as pets. The haematological evaluation of turtles is an irreplaceable diagnostic tool in veterinary practice. However, the morphologic distinctiveness of turtle blood limits the use of electronic cell-counting devices, making time-consuming, manual counting techniques and evaluation of blood smears necessary. Many samples are dispatched to a laboratory over long distances, where a delay of 24 h or more may occur. At weekends, this interval may exceed 48 h. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of storage duration at refrigerator temperature (4 °C) on the counts of red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC), and on the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and packed cell volume (PCV) in blood samples from healthy adult red-eared sliders. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture from the occipital venous sinus from six apparently healthy adult red-eared sliders, aged 2 to 4 years. Blood samples were analysed immediately after sampling to obtain the baseline value (BV) of the red blood cell count, white blood cell count and packed cell volume percentage. Blood was stored at 4 °C and the haematological analyses were performed after 24h, 48h and 72h. The results showed the same level of stability for RBC and WBC count, and MCV values during 72 hours of storage at 4 °C and for PCV during 48 hours. Handling of blood samples, and duration of storage of the blood samples can significantly influence the results/values of haematological tests. Consequently, the obtained values of the determined haematological parameters of improperly stored or handled blood samples can give a misleading interpretation of the results on the animal’s health status.