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Bats are natural reservoirs for many mammalian coronaviruses, which have received renewed interest after the discovery of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) CoV in humans. This study describes the identification and molecular characterization of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses in bats in Italy, from 2010 to 2012. Sixty-nine faecal samples and 126 carcasses were tested using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR. Coronavirus RNAs were detected in seven faecal samples and nine carcasses. A phylogenetic analysis of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase sequence fragments aided in identifying two alphacoronaviruses from Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii), three clade 2b betacoronaviruses from lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros), and 10 clade 2c betacoronaviruses from Kuhl's pipistrelle, common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), and Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). This study fills a substantive gap in the knowledge on bat-CoV ecology in Italy, and extends the current knowledge on clade 2c betacoronaviruses with new sequences obtained from bats that have not been previously described as hosts of these viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild birds play an important role in the circulation and spread of pathogens that are potentially zoonotic or of high economic impact on zootechnical production. They include, for example, West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), avian influenza virus (AIV), and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), which, despite having mostly an asymptomatic course in wild birds, have a strong impact on public health and zootechnical production. This study investigated the presence of these viruses in several wild bird species from North Italy during the biennium 2019–2020. Wild birds derived from 76 different species belonging to 20 orders. Out of 679 birds, 27 were positive for WNV (lineage 2) with a prevalence of 4%; all birds were negative for USUV; one gull was positive for H13N6 influenza virus, and 12 samples were positive for NDV with a prevalence of 2%. Despite the low prevalence observed, the analyses performed on these species provide further data, allowing a better understanding of the diffusion and evolution of diseases of both economic and zoonotic importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in bat-related viruses has increased considerably during the last decade, leading to the discovery of a rising number of new viruses in several bat species. Poxviridae are a large, diverse family of DNA viruses that can infect a wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates. To date, only a few documented detections of poxviruses have been described in bat populations on three different continents (America, Africa, and Australia). These viruses are phylogenetically dissimilar and have diverse clinical impacts on their hosts. Herein, we report the isolation, nearly complete genome sequencing, and annotation of a novel poxvirus detected from an insectivorous bat (Hypsugo savii) in Northern Italy. The virus is tentatively named Hypsugopoxvirus (HYPV) after the bat species from which it was isolated. The nearly complete genome size is 166,600 nt and it encodes 161 genes. Genome analyses suggest that HYPV belongs to the Chordopoxvirinae subfamily, with the highest nucleotide identity (85%) to Eptesipoxvirus (EPTV) detected from a microbat Eptesicus fuscus in WA, USA, in 2011. To date, HYPV represents the first poxvirus detected in bats in Europe; thus, its viral ecology and disease associations should be investigated further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenoviruses are important pathogens of humans and animals. Bats have been recognized as potential reservoirs of novel viruses, with some viruses being regarded as a possible zoonotic threat to humans. In this study, we report the detection and analysis of adenoviruses from different bat species in northern Italy. Upon sequence and phylogenetic analysis, based on a short diagnostic fragment of the highly-conserved DNA polymerase gene, we identified potential novel candidate adenovirus species, including an avian-like adenovirus strain. An adenovirus isolate was obtained in simian cell lines from the carcass of a Pipistrellus kuhlii, and the complete genome sequence was reconstructed using deep sequencing technologies. The virus displayed high nucleotide identity and virtually the same genome organization as the Pipistrellus pipistrellus strain PPV1, isolated in Germany in 2007. Gathering data on epidemiology and the genetic diversity of bat adenoviruses may be helpful to better understand their evolution in the mammalian and avian hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]