Search

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-6-lan-10.1177_00236772211055966 for Bacteriological and pathological investigations on the preputial glands of one-year-old C57BL/6NCrl mice maintained in individually ventilated cages by Gianfranco Di Caro, Lucia Minoli, Marzia Ferrario, Gerardo Marsella, Gianpaolo Milite, Luca Crippa, Piera Anna Martino, Saverio Paltrinieri, Eugenio Scanziani and Camilla Recordati in Laboratory Animals

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-6-lan-10.1177_00236772211055966 for Bacteriological and pathological investigations on the preputial glands of one-year-old C57BL/6NCrl mice maintained in individually ventilated cages by Gianfranco Di Caro, Lucia Minoli, Marzia Ferrario, Gerardo Marsella, Gianpaolo Milite, Luca Crippa, Piera Anna Martino, Saverio Paltrinieri, Eugenio Scanziani and Camilla Recordati in Laboratory Animals

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) has been associated with high antibiotic-resistance rates (e.g. methicillin) in European countries [1,3]. This condition could be also related to the ability to produce biofilm [2]. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of methicillin-resistant SP strains and determine their ability to produce biofilm and some crucial virulence factors. Forty-two SP strains, previously determined as multi drug resistant (MDR) by the disk diffusion method using a panel of 17 antimicrobial agents, were selected from our collection and tested phenotypically for the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of methicillin and genotypically for the presence of mecA and blaZ genes. The ability to produce biofilm was assessed phenotypically by two different assays: the Congo Red Agar plates (CRA) and the Microtitre Plate test (MtP) and genetically by the amplification of icaA and icaD genes. Three virulence factors genes coding for bicomponent leukocidin and enterotoxins (luk-I, seC, se-int) were searched. Twenty-three strains revealed a value of MIC for the methicillin greater than 128 µg/mL. The 83% were mecA-positive and 86% resulted blaZ-positive; all the strains positive for mecA were also positive for blaZ. All SP strains resulted biofilm-producers by MtP assay and classified as weakly producers (4.7%), moderate producers (47.6 %) and strongly producers (47.6 %). In contrast, only 35.7% of all strains were considered biofilm-producers by CRA method. The amplification of icaA and icaD gene occurred respectively in 66.6% and 97.6%; only one strain was negative for both genes. Almost all strains were positive for luk-I (95%), seC (74%) and se-int (84%). Our data reveal the pathogenicity potential of SP strains from dogs, suggesting that they could be considered zoonotic potential agents and confirming other previous studies [3-5]. Moreover could be observed a clear linkage between antibiotic-resistance and ability to produce biofilm., International Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Vol 5, No 1s (2018)

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a newly described species of Staphylococcus regarded as the main causative agent of canine pyoderma [1]. S. pseudintermedius infection was recently described in humans. An important feature of this pathogen is the high genetic identity with two other species of staphylococci, namely S. intermedius and S. delphini, which are included all together in the Staphylococcus Intermedius Group (SIG) [2]. This scenario seriously hampers phenotypic differentiation of these three pathogens. Despite this, only in 2008 was described the first molecular protocol for diagnostic identification of S. pseudintermedius [3]. The aim of this work was to investigate the presence of different biotypes of S. pseudintermedius obtained from clinically relevant cases of pyoderma in dogs using three molecular methods commonly used to type bacteria: the Ribosomal Spacers Amplification (RSA), the Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). A total of 46 different strains were included in this work. The application of the RSA technique, which was applied here for the first time, identified the presence of S. pseudintermedius, although it did not allow any differentiation between biotypes. The RAPD assay showed a single cluster that assembles all the interested strains that are grouped in three different sub-clusters (Fig. 1). The RFLP technique showed the most discriminative power, providing the opportunity to clearly identify this bacterium. In conclusion, the use of these three different techniques allows to clearly identify S. pseudintermedius and to observe the presence of different biotypes. In future it could be interesting to couple these results with the determination of the antibiotic resistance in order to verify if certain Multi Drug Resistant strains have particular RSA and RAPD profiles., International Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, V. 4, N. 1s (2017)

The recent pandemic caused by the novel human coronavirus (CoV), currently referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is responsible for COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is leading to alarmism among pet owners as a consequence of few case reports of SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs and cats. COVID-19 emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in humans exposed to wildlife at the Huanan seafood wholesale market, the largest seafood market in central China. This is a typical Asian wet market, where different species of farm and wild animals are commonly sold dead and live. The blood and other body fluids originating from these animals represent an exceptional source for the spillover of animal viruses (1). SARS-CoV-2 recognizes a probable zoonotic origin, since the virus likely descends from a bat betacoronavirus, strictly related to the one responsible for the 2002–2003 SARS epidemic (SARS-CoV), which was transmitted to humans directly or through previous adaptation to a not yet identified intermediate host (1, 2). After this adaptation to the new host, the virus was able to spread to the human population through a human-to-human transmission, without any further role of animals in the epidemiological chain. However, pets have been alternatively brought into play as a possible source of infection for humans, intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2 transmission to humans or hosts of animal CoVs that may cross-protect humans against the highly pathogenic CoV. The aim of this opinion article is to define the role of dogs and cats in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology in the light of current knowledge.