Search

Simple Summary: Dozens of species of small exotic mammals, such as chinchillas, golden hamsters, Java squirrels, Mongolian gerbils, mice, rats, African hedgehogs, and sugar gliders, are kept as pets globally. These exotic companion mammals are potential reservoirs for maintaining and transmitting zoonotic pathogens. Using molecular assays, our study aimed to investigate the occurrence of some potential zoonotic viruses in various small exotic mammals kept as pets in Italy. Our findings show that aichivirus (AiV) was further characterized as murine kobuvirus-1 in a rat (Rattus norvegicus). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the detection of AiV in rodents in Italy. Our results also revealed the absence of other viruses investigated while highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring of infectious agents in these increasingly common pets to prevent the spread of new potential zoonotic pathogens. We investigated the occurrence of eight potential zoonotic viruses in 91 exotic companion mammals from pet shops in southern Italy via real-time PCR and end-point PCR. The animals were screened for aichivirus, sapovirus, astrovirus, hepatitis A, noroviruses (GI and GII), rotavirus, circovirus, and SARS-CoV-2. Among the nine species of exotic pets studied, only one rat tested positive for aichivirus. The high sequence similarity to a murine kobuvirus-1 strain previously identified in China suggests that the virus may have been introduced into Italy through the importation of animals from Asia. Since exotic companion mammals live in close contact with humans, continuous sanitary monitoring is crucial to prevent the spread of new pathogens among domestic animals and humans. Further investigations on detecting and typing zoonotic viruses are needed to identify emerging and re-emerging viruses to safeguard public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) represents a world public health relevant problem especially in children. Enteric viruses are the pathogens mainly involved in the episodes of AGE, causing about 70.00% of the cases. Apart from well‐known rotavirus (RVA), adenovirus (AdV) and norovirus (NoV), there are various emerging viral pathogens potentially associated with AGE episodes. In this study, the presence of ten different enteric viruses was investigated in 152 fecal samples collected from children hospitalized for gastroenteritis. Real time PCR results showed that 49.3% of them were positive for viral detection with the following prevalence: norovirus GII 19.7%, AdV 15.8%, RVA 10.5%, human parechovirus (HPeV) 5.3%, enterovirus (EV) 3.3%, sapovirus (SaV) 2.6%. Salivirus (SalV), norovirus GI and astrovirus (AstV) 1.3% each, aichivirus (AiV) found in only one patient. In 38.2% of feces only one virus was detected, while co‐infections were identified in 11.8% of the cases. Among young patients, 105 were ≤5 years old and 56.0% tested positive for viral detection, while 47 were >5 years old with 40.0% of them infected. Results obtained confirm a complex plethora of viruses potentially implicated in gastroenteritis in children, with some of them previously known for other etiologies but detectable in fecal samples. Subsequent studies should investigate the role of these viruses in causing gastroenteritis and explore the possibility that other symptoms may be ascribed to multiple infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic wildlife surveillance is important to aid the prevention of zoonotic infections that jeopardize human health and undermine biodiversity. Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic zoonotic protozoan that can infect all endothermic vertebrates, causing severe disease in immunocompromised humans and cases of congenital transmission. Humans can be infected by ingestion of raw meat containing bradyzoites or water contaminated by oocysts. In our study, we assessed the potential circulation of Toxoplasma gondii in wild mammals by performing surveillance in the Campania region (southern Italy) and surveyed its presence from 2020 to 2022 within the framework of the Regional Plans for Wildlife Surveillance. In detail, 211 individuals belonging to five wild mammals (wolf, fox, wild boar, badger, and roe deer) underwent necropsy and the organs were analyzed by real-time PCR for the detection of the parasite. Toxoplasma gondii was found in 21.8% (46/211) of the subjects examined. No statistically significant differences were noticed between the prevalence and the host's trophic level or age, rejecting the hypotheses that Toxoplasma gondii will have a higher prevalence in top predators and adult individuals, respectively. Our work emphasized the high circulation of Toxoplasma gondii in wildlife and remarked on the critical role of anthropized areas where domestic cats and wildlife may come into contact, urging a systematic surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In the period 2014–2021, the circulation of CDV in dogs of Southern Italy was investigated. In this time span a reduction in the circulation of CDV was observed, with a higher frequency of detection of the pathogen in imported dogs (18.4%) compared to stray (7.4%) and household (3.9%) animals. These results underline the effectiveness of the prophylaxis strategy on autochthonous dogs as well as the importance of continuous surveillance of CDV, especially in imported dogs. This study aims to investigate the presence of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in 949 autochthonous or illegally imported dogs from Southern Italy, over a period of eight years (2014–2021). CDV RNA was detected in 6.8% (65/949) of the animals tested, with no detection of CDV in dogs sampled in 2020–2021. The frequency of CDV detection was higher in imported dogs (19/103, 18.3%) with respect to stray (27/365, 7.4%) and household dogs (19/481, 3.9%). On sequence and phylogenetic analyses of selected strains, the analyzed viruses belonged to the Arctic clade, which has already been reported in Italy and in Europe. The results of our study may suggest a reduction of CDV circulation in Southern Italy, while at the same time highlighting the need for strict controls on dog importation, in order to prevent the introduction of viruses from endemic countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) or suid herpesvirus 1 (SHV‐1) is the causative agent of Aujeszky's disease, a highly contagious viral infection which causes neurological fatal illness in mammals other than suids. Here we report a case of a young wolf (Canis lupus) of around 2 years found dead by a hunter in the province of Avellino, Campania Region. Necropsy showed pathological findings consistent with encephalitis and gastroenteritis. Organs were analysed by microbiological and molecular investigations following standard procedures to ascertain the possible cause of death. Real‐time PCR revealed the presence of PRV in the brain and of canine parvovirus 2b in organs like intestine, liver, brain, kidney and pancreas. Death probably occurred very shortly after SHV‐1 infection in an animal already weakened by parvovirosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To guarantee consumers about the security of what they eat is the main goal of all the institutions working to assure food safety. In seafood field it appears of prime importance to be able to identify fish species throughout the production cycle also when the product has been already processed (breaded fish, fillets etc). In this context the latest system proposed for species identification is the so called “DNA-Barcoding”, made by carrying out the DNA sequencing of a standard barcode region. In the present study we carried out bi-directional sequence analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (Cytb) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI). The main goal of the research was to unambiguously classify the most common fishes traded in Italy, being able to ascertain possible labeling frauds made substituting value species with less precious ones. With both genes we could correctly identify almost all the samples in study: respectively 58/58 with COI and 56/58 with Cytb. This study confirms mitochondrial genes Cytb and COI as good candidates for fish species identification by DNA sequencing. This method appears particularly suitable especially when morphological characterization is difficult, (for very close species), or impossible (for transformed foodstuffs) to carry out. What's more we could efficiently identify many fishes belonging to the Mediterranean fauna, which, to our knowledge, underwent for the first time this kind of analysis. Further development will concern the extension of the analysis to a largest number of local species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Simple Summary: A retrospective, large-scale molecular survey was carried out to detect the presence of the PCV-2 and PCV-3 genomes in wild boar samples in the Campania region. A total of 148 samples from wild boars were tested for PCV-2 and PCV-3 by real-time PCR. The combined prevalence was 74.32%. The percentage of coinfected animals was 22.30%. In recent years, porcine circovirus (PCV) infection has been documented as an important and emerging health concern for livestock and wildlife worldwide. The purpose of the present study was to assess the molecular prevalence of PCV-2 and PCV-3 and to clarify the epidemiological role of wild boars in the circulation of this virus in Campania, Southern Italy. For this purpose, samples from several organs were collected during the hunting season 2017–2018 from 148 wild boars in the Campania region. Quantitative real-time PCR was used for the detection and quantification of PCV-2 and PCV-3 genomes. The combined prevalence of PCV-2 and PCV-3 was 74.32% in the wild boars tested. The proportions of wild boars positive for PCV-2 or PCV-3, or coinfected, were 47.30%, 49.32%, and 22.30%, respectively. No link was detected between PCV positivity and location, but gender was a risk factor for the disease (female; p < 0.0001; OR 0.29). Furthermore, our study provides a snapshot of PCV-2 and PCV-3 circulation in wild boars in the Campania region: our findings can help us to better understand the role of wildlife in PCV circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An outbreak of winter dysentery, complicated by severe respiratory syndrome, occurred in January 2020 in a high production dairy cow herd located in a hilly area of the Calabria region. Of the 52 animals belonging to the farm, 5 (9.6%) died with severe respiratory distress, death occurring 3–4 days after the appearance of the respiratory signs (caught and gasping breath). Microbiological analysis revealed absence of pathogenic bacteria whilst Real-time PCR identified the presence of RNA from Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV) in several organs: lungs, small intestine (jejunum), mediastinal lymph nodes, liver and placenta. BCoV was therefore hypothesized to play a role in the lethal pulmonary infection. Like the other CoVs, BCoV is able to cause different syndromes. Its role in calf diarrhea and in mild respiratory disease is well known: we report instead the involvement of this virus in a severe and fatal respiratory disorder, with symptoms and disease evolution resembling those of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes (SARS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pseudorabies is an infection of domestic and wild pigs that has occasionally been reported in dogs with fatal encephalitis. Hunting dogs are predisposed to pseudorabies exposure due to incorrect practices (administration of raw infected meat) or close contact with infected wild boars. This study described an outbreak of pseudorabies in two hunting dogs in the Campania region, southern Italy., Case Presentation: Two hunting dogs were hospitalized after a hunting trip, with fever, itching, and self-inflicted lesions. Laboratory tests showed mild anemia and marked leukocytosis. Despite conservative therapy, both animals died 48 h after the presentation of symptoms. One of the carcasses was sent to the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production in Naples to confirm the suspicion of pseudorabies. DNA was extracted from different matrices and used as a template for real-time PCR to detect PRV. Several samples (brain, cerebellum, brainstem, lung, and liver) tested positive. Subsequent sequence analyses of glycoprotein E from DNA extracted from the brain stem revealed a sequence similarity to those described in previous cases of pseudorabies in dogs in Italy, France and Belgium. One month after the outbreak, blood samples were collected from 42 dogs belonging to the same hunting team and from 245 dogs (cohort population) living in the Campania region. All samples were tested with two commercial ELISAs to detect seroconversion against glycoproteins B and E. A seroprevalence of 19% was observed in the hunting team affected by the outbreak, while only 0.8% was observed in the regional dog population., Conclusions: The data reported in this study demonstrate potential exposure to PRV by dead-end hosts, particularly hunting dogs. The sequencing results indicated the homogeneity of PRV strains circulating in the different Italian regions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rhodococcus equi is a terrestrial bacterium and a common pathogen in foals (Equus caballus), in which causes pneumonia. This report describes for the first time the infection caused by R. equi in a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) stranded in the Calabrian coast, Italy. The post mortem examination of the animal revealed lesions in lung and colon. The animal was also positive to dolphin morbillivirus. The histological study showed lesions attributable to R. equi infection, such as pyogranulomatous bacterial pneumonia and chronic granulomatous colitis. Whole genome sequencing of the isolated strain confirmed its identification as R. equi., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

A six-year study on water buffaloes from the Campania Region (Southern Italy) was conducted to evaluate the presence of bovine/bubaline herpesviruses in cases of abortion. A total of 244 buffalo foetuses were analysed by real-time PCR to detect the presence of: bovine alphaherpesvirus 1(BoHV-1), bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1), bovine alphaherpesvirus 2 (BuHV-2), and bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4). The foetuses of 14 water buffaloes that showed abortions were positive for BuHV-1 (4 animals) and/or BoHV-4 (11 animals), with one of these cases showing co-infection with BuHV-1 and BoHV-4. This study reports the first identification of BoHV-4 in water buffaloes. Cases of abortion were analysed using both molecular and cultural assays for the presence of other pathogens. In nearly all the abortion cases positive for BoHV-4, the virus was identified as a co-infecting agent together with other microorganisms, whereas in two abortion cases, it was the only pathogen found., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

In industrialized countries, hepatitis E is now recognized as an emerging zoonosis. Autochthonous cases have been increased over recent years in Europe and are mainly associated with HEV-3 infections. Pigs and wild boars are considered the main reservoirs of the zoonotic HEV-3 and HEV-4 genotypes. Over the past decade, the number of wild boars has drastically increased in Europe. Due to habitats closer to humans and domestic animals, the role of wild boar as a reservoir of the zoonotic HEV is considered to be an emerging issue. In this study, we investigated the presence of HEV RNA by a real-time RT-PCR assay in paired liver and muscle samples collected from 196 wild boars (Sus scrofa) hunted in the two areas of Central and Southern Italy. Twenty animals (10.2%) were HEV RNA positive in livers, 11 of which were also positive in muscles. The ORF2 and ORF1 partial viral sequences were obtained for nine paired livers and muscles, and when aligned were identical to each other. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed detection of different HEV-3 subtypes: 3c, 3f, 3i and some that were not assigned to any subtypes that have so far been identified. Results need further investigation because they are based on analyses of sequences of short genome regions. Nevertheless, we observed that the same strains were circulating in the wild boar populations from the two investigated areas, confirming persistence of the same HEV strains in the wild boar population over time.

To assess the quality of shellfish harvest areas, bivalve mollusk samples from three coastal areas of the Campania region in Southwest Italy were evaluated for viruses over a three-year period (2015-2017). Screening of 289 samples from shellfish farms and other locations by qPCR and RT-qPCR identified hepatitis A virus (HAV; 8.9%), norovirus GI (NoVGI; 10.8%) and GII (NoVGII; 39.7%), rotavirus (RV; 9.0%), astrovirus (AsV; 20.8%), sapovirus (SaV; 18.8%), aichivirus-1 (AiV-1; 5.6%), and adenovirus (AdV, 5.6%). Hepatitis E virus (HEV) was never detected. Sequence analysis identified HAV as genotype IA and AdV as type 41. This study demonstrates the presence of different enteric viruses within bivalve mollusks, highlighting the limitations of the current EU classification system for shellfish growing waters.

Metagenomic analysis revealed the presence of porcine parvovirus 3 (PPV3) in the pool of the internal organs of a wild boar found dead in Southern Italy. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete coding sequences showed that the newly detected virus is most closely related to those found also in wild boars in Romania during 2010-2011. Even though the death could not be associated with this virus, PPV3 could have contributed to lowering the host's immunological defences.

Mussels can be affected by environmental contaminants, as non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cadmium (Cd). Moreover, mussels may concentrate human enteric viruses, like noroviruses (NoVGI/GII), astrovirus (AsV) and rotavirus (RV). Herein, to establish a relationship between environmental and viral contamination, with the aim to ensure human food safety, both chemical and microbiological analysis were carried out in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis, farmed in Campania region (Italy). Chemical analysis revealed ranges below the European maximum limits, and were: ∑6 NDL-PCBs (28, 52, 101, 138, 153, 180) 0.579-16.857 ng g -1 wet weight (ww); BaP LOQ (<0.2 µg kg -1 )- 2.9 µg kg -1 ww, and ∑4 PAHs (BaA, CHR, BbFA, BaP) 0.7-23.7 µg kg -1 ww; Cd LOQ (<0.005 mg kg -1 )- 0.078 mg kg -1 ww. In addition, mussels exhibited a prevalence of NoVGI (18%), NoVGII (43%), AsV (40%), RV (30%) and the presence of more than one viruses resulted in about 35%. Overall, a simultaneous contamination, both chemical and viral, was found in 62% of samples. Interestingly, virus-positive mussels showed levels of chemicals higher than negative ones., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A Flavivirus survey on 183 hunting dogs was conducted in Campania region, Southern Italy. The seroprevalence value of 40.43% (74/183, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 33.37-47.49) detected in our study using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent serologic assay (cELISA) proves a considerable level of Flavivirus exposition of these animals. Among the 74 cELISA-positive sera, seroneutralization (SN) test showed that 24 sera resulted positive for Usutu virus with an overall prevalence of 13.11% (24/183) (95% CI 8.27-17.95), but none of cELISA-positive samples resulted positive for West Nile virus. Data analysis showed a significant difference of cELISA seropositivity risk factors in case of presence of farm animals in contact with hunting dogs and for dogs living in a rural environment but not for gender, age, management, hunting season, and hunting abroad. A RT-PCR assay was performed to detect the Flavivirus RNA, but none of the blood samples tested positive. This study documents the first report regarding the circulation of Flavivirus in hunting dog in Southern Italy and suggests the dog as an interesting target to monitor Flavivirus circulation.

The complete and near-complete genome sequences (7206 nt and 7229 nt) of two wild boar HEV strains detected in Southern Italy were obtained by the next generation sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis and p distance comparisons of one of the strains with HEV-3 reference subtype strains confirmed the detection of a subtype 3i (p distance = 0.110) strain in wild boar, never detected in Italy either in wild boar or pigs. The sequence of the second strain was not classifiable in any of the subtypes defined to date, showing a p distance > 0.138 and a low nucleotide identity with all HEV reference strains. The virus may represent a novel subtype, with a low relationship to other strains of genotype 3 detected in wild boar, pigs, or humans in Europe. This result suggests the circulation in Italy of an emerging or uncommon HEV strain. Sequencing followed by phylogenetic analyses of the complete HEV coding regions are important tools for understanding the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics underlying the wide genetic diversity of HEV strains.

In recent years, bats have been found to harbour many viruses, raising several questions about their role as reservoirs and potential disseminators of zoonotic viruses. We investigated the presence of six virus families in bats in three regions of Central-Southern Italy. Astroviruses were identified in seven of 13 bat species. Sequence analysis revealed marked genetic heterogeneity among the astroviruses identified, with nucleotide identity ranging between 60.26% and 87.62%. Astrovirus diversity was not associated with the bat species, the geographic areas or the bat colony, suggesting the circulation of several astrovirus strains in Italian ecosystems. Genetic diversification and interspecies transmission appear common in bat astroviruses and could provide, potentially, the bases for transmission to humans and other mammals. Yet overemphasizing this risk might have detrimental consequences for bat conservation and preservation of the important ecosystem services bats provide., (© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

The seroprevalence of Neospora caninum was surveyed by an ELISA kit on two water buffalo herds of Southern Italy. Seropositive samples were detected in 47% and 59% of individuals, respectively, thus indicating high level of exposure to the parasite even if the possibility of vertical transmission cannot be excluded. Tissue samples collected from three aborted fetuses from the same herds were investigated for N. caninum presence by PCR assays targeting the 18S and the Nc5 DNA sequences, respectively. Both methods have shown the presence of N. caninum DNA in heart and brain. Sequencing of the Nc5 genomic DNA confirmed the presence of N. caninum in the samples; phylogenetic analysis of the obtained sequences showed high homology among the Neospora recovered from different samples. The present study suggests an important role of N. caninum as a possible abortive agent for water buffaloes.