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Abstract Background Lichtheimia corymbifera (previously Absidia corymbifera) is a filamentous zygomycetes belonging to the order Mucorales and to the family Lichtheimiaceae. Members of genus Lichtheimia spp. are cosmopolitan and ubiquitous in nature. Lichtheimia corymbifera is a recognized agent of diseases in man and animals. In cattle it causes abortion and mastitis. Three cases of bovine abortion occurred in a herd located in the Po Valley. Serological examinations were performed on fetal and mother's blood. One of the aborted fetus was referred to our laboratory. The paper describes the isolation and characterization of Lichtheimia corymbifera from a bovine aborted fetus. Methods Serological examinations were performed on fetal and mother's blood. Lesions on fetal tissues and placenta leaded the diagnostic suspect towards a mycotic aetiology. Tissues were then put in culture, and at the same time an histological examination was performed, together with bacteriological and virological tests. The isolate from placenta and fetal tissues was identified and characterized by PCR and RFLP, using the ITS region as a target sequence and AclI restriction site within the amplicon to distinguish Lichtheimia corymbifera among the other fungi. Results Serological, bacteriological and virological tests gave aspecific results. Histological examination evidenced numerous PAS positive hyphae within the necrotic cotiledons and numerous fungal nonseptate hyphae to the GMS stain. Colonies with typical morphological features of fungi grew up on Sabouraud agar from fetal skin and placenta. On the developed colonies the microscopic examination has shown a large number of nonseptate hyphae and sporangia consistent with Mucorales. PCR and RFLP allowed the identification of the isolate as Lichtheimia corymbifera. Conclusion The present report describes the isolation and the molecular characterisation of a fungal isolate from bovine aborted fetus and placenta. The diagnostic protocol allowed to identify and characterise the strain. This is the first isolation in Italy of Lichtheimia corymbifera in a bovine aborted fetus.

Background. Snakes are globally considered as pet animals, and millions of ophidians are bred in captivity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium that can act as an opportunistic pathogen of man and animals and is frequently present in the oral and cloacal microbiota of healthy ophidians. It can cause severe clinical diseases and often shows antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance profiles of P. aeruginosa isolated from the cloacal microbiota of a large population sample of healthy captive ophidians and to evaluate the statistical associations with farming conditions. Methods. A total of 419 cloacal swabs were collected from snakes belonging to the Boidae (nD45), Colubridae (nD48) and Pythonidae (nD326) families and inoculated onto complete culture media. Food, water and bedding samples were also analyzed. The antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolates was evaluated through the Kirby- Bauer agar diffusion test. Statistical analyses were performed with the chi-square test. Results. The prevalence of P. aeruginosa was 59.9%, and 35.5% of these strains were multidrug resistant (MDR). The prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa was significantly higher in adult samples than in young samples, and widespread resistance to Cephalosporins, Polymyxins and Sulfonamides was observed. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of P. aeruginosa were observed depending on the farm size and snake family. Feeding thawed prey was associated with a higher P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Moreover, snakes fed home-raised prey had a significantly higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence than snakes fed commercially available feed. Less frequent terrarium cleaning was associated with a higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. On the other hand, snake reproductive status was not significantly associated with P. aeruginosa or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. All food, water and bedding samples were negative for P. aeruginosa presence. Discussion. The overall P. aeruginosa prevalence found in this study was lower than that found by other authors, but a high proportion of the isolates were MDR. This study highlighted the presence of constitutive (such as age and taxonomic family) and managerial (farm size, cleaning cycle frequency and food type) factors associated with P. aeruginosa and/or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Good breeding management and proper antibiotic treatment of P. aeruginosa infections could help reduce the presence of P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa in the gut microbiota of snakes and consequently reduce the risk to public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses worldwide and is considered a re-emerging disease. In horses, leptospiral infection frequently does not result in a systemic disease and it is commonly believed that horses play a minor role in spreading the disease, compared to other livestock and wild animals. However, horses can become carriers and it has been suggested that the horse is the maintenance host for serovar Bratislava. Epidemiological data regarding leptospirosis in horses in Europe are lacking and further studies are required. The aim of this study was to evaluate Leptospira seroprevalence in Bardigiano horses living in the Province of Parma, Northern Italy, and to identify risk factors associated with seropositivity. A high seroprevalence against Leptospira spp. among Bardigiano horses and a high number of infected farms were found. Unexpectedly, seroprevalence was considerably higher compared to similar studies carried out in Italy. The location of the farm and the type of housing did not affect seroprevalence, but rodent control might reduce the risk of exposure for Bardigiano horses. Horses living in the considered area have high-risk exposure to different serovars of pathogenic leptospires and could contribute to the maintenance of the bacterium in the environment. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Bardigiano horses in the Province of Parma, Northern Italy, to assess the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. and to investigate risk factors associated with the infection. A representative sample of 134 horses from 43 farms was selected by stratified systematic randomization. Blood sera were examined by MAT for the presence of antibodies against seven Leptospira serovars. Ninety animals (67.2%; 95% Confidence Interval 63.2–71.1) and 41 farms (95.3%; 95% CI 92.2–98.5%) were found positive to at least one of the serovars. The most frequently detected reactions were against serovar Bratislava (41.8%), followed by Canicola (36.6%), Tarassovi (28.4%), Copenhageni (17.9%), Pomona (10.4%) and Hardjo (2.2%). None of the sera reacted against serovar Grippothyphosa. Forty-eight horses (53.3% of the seropositives) were positive for more than one serovar and 21 (15.7% of the seropositives) had serum titres ≥ 1000. Bratislava was the serovar providing the highest antibody titres. Prevalence was significantly higher between adult horses and in farms lacking rodent control (p = 0.006 and p = 0.025, respectively). No significant gender or housing-related difference in seroprevalence was found. The anamnestic data suggest that the infection in Bardigiano horses is subclinical in most of the cases. The high seroprevalence indicates that Bardigiano horses living in the investigated area are at high risk of exposure and infection by Leptospira spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever in humans, has been associated with abortion in cattle. In this study 650 sera from cattle with abortion and 600 randomly-selected control sera were examined for antibodies to C. burnetii by ELISA. Two hundred and ninety-two (44.9%) out of 650 animals which experienced abortion were seropositive versus 132 (22%) out of 600 of the control group. A statistically significant difference resulted from the comparison of the seroprevalence of aborted cattle with that of controls (p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant higher prevalence was disclosed in cattle which aborted during late gestation (p < 0.002) and in the autumn (p < 0.001).