{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T15:46:11Z","timestamp":1789832771156,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,2]],"date-time":"2025-06-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748822400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Surveillance is crucial in controlling and preventing vector-borne zoonotic diseases (VBDs). We analyzed the seroprevalence of selected vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in sheep from endemic areas and their role as possible sentinels for VBDs. A total of 300 sheep from seven farms at three micro-locations were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), <jats:italic>Borrelia burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l., and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) using ELISA with confirmation of borderline\/positive results by VNT. Seropositivity for at least one pathogen was observed in 18.0% (54\/300) of sheep. The highest seroprevalence was confirmed for TBEV (9.7%; 29\/300), followed by WNV (3.0%; 9\/300) and <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. (2.7%; 8\/300), while USUV and inconclusive flavivirus (TBEV\/WNV\/USUV) infections had the same seroprevalence of 1.3% (4\/300). None of the serum samples tested positive for CCHFV. Geographic micro-location was a significant risk factor for USUV (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> =\u202f0.045), TBEV (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> =\u202f0.03), and <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> =\u202f0.015) infections, but not for WNV. The farm distance from the household (TBEV <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u202f0.001, <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> =\u202f0.005) and sheep breed (TBEV <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u202f0.001, <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u202f0.001) were found as risk factors for seropositivity to tick-borne (TBEV, <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l.), but not to mosquito-borne diseases (WNV, USUV). Of the other risk factors, sheep shearing was statistically significant, with unshared sheep showing a higher probability of tick-borne diseases (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> =\u202f0.048). Sex, age, herd size, and the presence of clinical signs were not associated with the seroprevalence. Serologic evidence of VBDs suggests their sentinel potential for mapping micro-foci of zoonotic pathogens\u2019 activity and identifying high-risk areas for public health. Further studies are needed to confirm this observation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2025.1602706","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,2]],"date-time":"2025-06-02T14:08:50Z","timestamp":1748873330000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Seroprevalence study for selected zoonotic vector-borne pathogens in sheep from endemic areas of Croatia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Ljubo","family":"Barbic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vladimir","family":"Stevanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maja","family":"Mauric Maljkovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gorana","family":"Miletic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ivona","family":"Coric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vladimir","family":"Savic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viktor","family":"Masovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maja","family":"Bogdanic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alan","family":"Medic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tatjana","family":"Vilibic-Cavlek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","article-title":"Tick-borne human diseases around the globe. 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