{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T21:55:02Z","timestamp":1768859702000,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]],"date-time":"2026-01-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768608000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union NextGeneration EU project"},{"name":"Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia","award":["NPOO-17"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NPOO-17"]}]},{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb"},{"name":"Animal Production and Health Sub-Programme of the Joint FAO\/IAEA Centre in Vienna, Austria"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Protoparvoviruses are highly contagious pathogens that cause severe, often fatal diseases in both domestic and wild carnivores. Golden jackal (Canis aureus) populations have experienced expansion in recent years, increasingly occupying urban and peri-urban areas. Despite this, they remain largely overlooked in scientific research. This study aimed to detect and characterise Protoparvovirus carnivoran1 circulating in a golden jackal population in Croatia and to assess their role in the epidemiology of parvovirus infections in companion animals. Small intestines from 55 jackals hunted in 2024 and 2025 were tested for Protoparvovirus carnivoran1 using real-time PCR. Positive samples were found across all sampling sites, with an overall positivity rate of 40%. Based on characteristic amino acid residues within the VP2 protein, the viruses detected in jackals were classified as feline panleukopenia virus (FPV). Phylogenetic analysis of the VP2 protein demonstrated considerable genetic diversity among strains circulating in Croatia. Additionally, a distinct group was identified, shared exclusively by Croatian domestic cats and golden jackals. Amino acid analysis revealed the novel A91T mutation, found only in jackals, and the E411Q mutation, unique to Croatian FPV strains. Structural modelling of the VP2 protein indicates that the observed mutations are located on the protein surface, within the antibody-binding site. These findings highlight the potential role of wild carnivores in parvovirus epidemiology and underscore the importance of including them in future surveillance and research efforts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v18010123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T08:23:56Z","timestamp":1768811036000},"page":"123","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Detection and Molecular Characterisation of Protoparvovirus carnivoran1 in Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in Croatia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Ivona","family":"Coric","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gorana","family":"Miletic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8584-9825","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dean","family":"Konjevic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Economics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ivica","family":"Boskovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Production and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Miljenko","family":"Bujanic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunting and Education Polygon \u010crnov\u0161\u0107ak, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alenka","family":"Skrinjaric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Snjezana","family":"Kovac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ljubo","family":"Barbic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9497-9904","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreja","family":"Jungic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vladimir","family":"Stevanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2831","DOI":"10.1007\/s00705-014-2114-3","article-title":"Ratification vote on taxonomic proposals to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses","volume":"159","author":"Adams","year":"2014","journal-title":"Arch. 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