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The aim of this study is to report the results of parasitological, microbiological, histopathological and serological investigations on 22 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and 1 bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) found stranded since January 2007 to August 2010 on the Ligurian Sea coast of Italy. Parasites were identified in a variety of organs (lung, intestine, skin, muscle). Toxoplasma gondii cysts and zoites were found in 2 of the 4 dolphins with meningoencephalitis. Morbillivirus infections was not considered to have contributed to the death of these animals.

Striped bass (hybrid of Morone ssp.) is a fish raised in hot water; in Italy is not very common because its meat is not so appreciate. In USA and Israel M. marinum, M. shottii, M. pseudoshottii were the mycobacterial species more frequently isolated from Morone spp. The aim of the present work is to describe the first M. marinum infection in a striped bass farm of Northern Italy. In summer 2007 some gills of striped bass with yellow-brown nodules were sent to Istituto Zooprofilattico and the histopathological examination showed several granulomas with a large number of acid-fast bacilli. After this finding, some fishes from the same farm were randomly selected, sacrificed and necropsied in order to identify the mycobacterial species. The anatomopathological exams revealed lesions in various organs of all animals: ulcerative cutaneous lesions, yellow mucus with red nodules on the gills, splenomegaly and military granulomatous lesions in liver, kidney and spleen. At necropsy, liver, spleen, kidney, gills and muscle were collected and a portion fixed in formalin for the histological and immunohistochemical examination while another portion, not fixed, utilized for parasitological, virological and bacteriological investigations. Microscopically granulomas presented a central necrotic area surrounded by inflammatory cells and enclosed by a thin capsule. All granulomas were associated with a great number of acid-fast bacilli resulting positive to immunohistochemistry with a polyclonal antibody against M. bovis. From all samples, with the exception of muscle, it was possible to isolate photochromogenic colonies and the purified isolates were characterised by phenotypical and biochemical identification. All the isolates were identified as M. marinum. It is important to emphasize that, although granulomatous lesions were diffused in various organs, no fishes died for the infection and that the low death rate allowed the increase of human risk by manipulation and consumption of contaminated fishes.

Con il termine di Micobatteriosi o Tubercolosi ittica viene indicato un complesso di malattie sistemiche ad andamento cronico, sostenute da batteri acido-alcool resistenti (BAAR) appartenenti al genere Mycobacterium. Essi colpiscono numerose specie ittiche d'acqua dolce e salata, sia di allevamento che delle acque libere, sono diffusi nel suolo, nei pascoli e nelle paludi (6). I micobatteri sono germi molto resistenti agli agenti fisici e sono in grado di permanere e sopravvivere molti mesi nell’ambiente. Le Micobatteriosi atipiche sono state segnalate soprattutto in pesci d'acquario tropicali, ma anche in pesci allevati da consumo; non si conoscono specie refrattarie a questa infezione, naturale o sperimentale (1, 4, 8). Presentano un andamento enzootico e un decorso cronico. La sintomatologia dei pesci affetti da micobatteriosi appare aspecifica: si manifesta con ritardo della crescita e/o dello sviluppo sessuale, anoressia ed emaciazione, tachipnea, apatia, letargia, lepidortosi, atassia natatoria, esoftalmo, melanosi, distensione addominale. (4, 8). Sulla cute, quando coinvolta, si osservano ulcere e tumefazioni, associate a sfilacciamento delle pinne ed emorragie diffuse. In alcuni casi l'infezione può estendersi al sistema scheletrico, causando deformità. Nei soggetti colpiti si ha un progressivo indebolimento e caduta delle difese organiche, questo processo ha come esito la morte del pesce (8, 10). All'esame anatomopatologico si osservano versamenti in cavità celomatica, presenze di pseudomembrane sui visceri, e splenomegalia, noduli biancastri diffusi in milza, fegato e rene (1, 8, 10); molto frequenti sono i portatori asintomatici. Le specie di micobatteri maggiormente coinvolte nel determinismo della tubercolosi ittica sono Mycobacterium marinum, M. fortuitum e M. chelonae, ma ad esse si affiancano altre specie, quali M. abscessus, M. peregrinum, M. gordonae, M. kansasii e M. nonchromogenicum ritenute ad oggi specie patogene emergenti (8, 10). L’interesse per questa patologia nasce dal fatto che essendo considerata una “zoonosi minore”, può essere trasmessa all’uomo, rappresentando un reale rischio soprattutto per gli operatori del settore ittico. Tali microrganismi possono penetrare attraverso ferite e abrasioni cutanee provocando la formazione di granulomi a carico della cute e non sono da escludere forme linfonodali, polmonari ed ossee ad andamento molto più drammatico, soprattutto nei soggetti giovani e in quelli immunodepressi. (2, 3). Il riscontro di casi da micobatteri ittici, riguardante i proprietari di un acquario, sottolinea la necessità di far luce su una patologia di interesse ispettivo finora poco considerata, anche in virtù del fatto che il settore acquariofilo ha raggiunto una grande importanza commerciale in tutti i paesi industrializzati e, in particolar modo in Italia, dove i pesci ornamentali rappresentano gli animali da compagnia più comuni (10). Il quadro, già complesso per la concorrenza di molte specie nel determinismo della malattia, è complicato dalla alta resistenza di tali specie ai comuni farmaci anti-tubercolari. La terapia lunga e difficile nell’uomo, è, al momento, impraticabile nei pesci (1, 7, 9). In questi episodi assume, quindi, fondamentale importanza l’isolamento e la tipizzazione del micobatterio coinvolto, necessaria per ottenere un esito corretto e soprattutto con il giusto significato diagnostico. Scopo del presente lavoro è quello di evidenziare la presenza di tali patologie nei pesci ornamentali d’importazione durante il triennio preso in considerazione, confrontandoli con i dati dei monitoraggi precedenti effettuati sul territorio nazionale

Food Fraud has been around a long time but following several highly mediatised incidents such as the milk and infant formula contaminated with melamine in 2008 and the horsemeat scandal in 2013, all authenticity issues have become big news. Regulators and customers now require food operators to keep abreast of any potential risks and to regularly assess their raw material and ingredient supply chains for vulnerability to food fraud. It is hoped that this FoodIntegrity Handbook will be a useful companion to help the food industry achieve this aim. The Handbook has been written for food business operators and is primarily aimed at quality control managers working in food production and to those actors involved in the food supply chain. It may also be useful to young scientists, students and researchers with little prior knowledge of the area. Written by nearly 50 experts in food authenticity, it is the result of European collaboration through the EU-funded FoodIntegrity project. The book’s editors, Jean François Morin and Michèle Lees, are respectively the current and former Directors of Collaborative Research at Eurofins Analytics France, an analytical laboratory renowned for its pioneering research into Food Authenticity.

Mycobacterium spp. and Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida are recognized as the most frequent causative agents of granulomatous lesions in fish. Although frequent episodes of mycobacterial infections have been reported in wild fish worldwide, only sporadic cases have been documented to date in Italy. To investigate for the presence of lesions referable to mycobacteriosis and to identify the mycobacterial species involved, a total of 159 wild mullets were fished from the eastern coast of the Ligurian Sea, killed and necropsied. Liver and spleen samples were collected from all fish for histopathological and microbiological analyses. Molecular investigations for identification of Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida were performed. Gross examination revealed granulomatous lesions in one animal; microscopically, 42.14% of fish displayed granulomas with various histological features, 19.50% resulted positive at Ziehl–Neelsen staining, and were confirmed as mycobacterial lesions by culture. The identified colonies were characterized as M. fortuitum, M. abscessus, M. flavescens, M. chelonae, M. septicum and M. nonchromogenicum. In all, 35% of animals resulted positive for Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida. These data suggest widespread mycobacterial infection also by Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida infections in wild fish. Moreover, the pathogenicity of some mycobacterial species, previously considered as saprophytic, was demonstrated.