is a major vector of pathogens, including West Nile and Usutu viruses, that poses a significant public health risk. Monitoring pyrethroid resistance in mosquito populations is essential for effective vector control. This study aims to evaluate four DNA extraction protocols-QIAsymphony, DNAzol Direct reagent, PrepMan Ultra Sample Preparation Reagent (USPR), and Chelex 100-to identify an optimal method to extract DNA from individual , as part of a high-throughput surveillance of pyrethroid resistance using Real-Time Genotyping PCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis E virus (HEV) is recognized as an emerging zoonosis. Pigs and wild boars are considered the main reservoirs of zoonotic HEV-3 and HEV-4 genotypes. In Europe, autochthonous human cases of hepatitis E, mainly associated with HEV-3 and consumption of raw or undercooked pig and wild boar liver/meat, have increased over the last decades.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(homotypic synonym: ) represents an ungrouped thermotolerant rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) species occasionally associated with infections and disease in humans. In this report, we describe a case of pyogranulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis due to in an immunocompetent adult cat. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of infection in animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSewage metagenomics has risen to prominence in urban population surveillance of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Unknown species with similarity to known genomes cause database bias in reference-based metagenomics. To improve surveillance, we seek to recover sewage genomes and develop a quantification and correlation workflow for these genomes and AMR over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis (TB) affects humans and other animals, and it is caused by bacteria within the complex (MTBC). In this study, we report the characterisation of that caused a TB case in a sea lion () kept in an Italian zoo. The animal died due to severe, progressive disorders involving the respiratory and gastro-enteric systems and the skin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFinfections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. In this study, we analyzed all cases of infection detected in striped dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline between 2012 and 2021 ( = 24). We focused on the pathogenic role of through detailed pathological studies, and ad hoc microbiological, biomolecular, and serological investigations, coupled with a comparative genomic analysis of the strains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increasing prevalence of pESI(like)-positive, multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. Infantis in Europe is a cause of major concern. As previously demonstrated, the pESI(like) megaplasmid is not only a carrier of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) genes (at least tet, dfr, and sul genes), but also harbours several virulence and fitness genes, and toxin/antitoxin systems that enhance its persistence in the S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Microbiol
November 2022
Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are considered a major public health issue. In the frame of the EU Harmonized AMR Monitoring program conducted in Italy in 2021, 21 epidemiological units of fattening pigs (6.98%; 95% CI 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe European Commission requested scientific and technical assistance in the preparation of a EU-wide baseline survey protocol for a European Union (EU) coordinated monitoring programme on the prevalence of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) in pigs. The objective of the survey is to estimate the MRSA prevalence in batches of fattening pigs at slaughter at both European and national levels, with a 95% level of confidence and a level of precision of 10% considering an expected prevalence of 50%. The survey protocol defines the target population, the sample size for the survey, sample collection requirements, the analytical methods (for isolation, identification, phenotypic susceptibility testing and further genotypic testing of MRSA isolates), the data reporting requirements and the plan of analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBaylisascaris procyonis is a nematode parasite of the raccoon (Procyon lotor), and it can be responsible for a severe form of larva migrans in humans. This parasite has been reported from many countries all over the world, after translocation of its natural host outside its native geographic range, North America. In the period between January and August 2021, 21 raccoons were cage-trapped and euthanized in Tuscany (Central Italy), in the context of a plan aimed at eradicating a reproductive population of this non-native species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAvian malaria is a worldwide distributed, vector-born disease of birds caused by parasites of the order Haemosporida. There is a lack of knowledge about the presence and pathogenetic role of Haemosporida in Psittacidae. Here we report a case of avian malaria infection in lovebirds (), with the genetic characterization of the species involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAvian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds caused by protozoa belonging to the genus , within the order Haemosporida. Penguins are considered particularly susceptible, and outbreaks in captive populations can lead to high mortality. We used a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the death due to avian malaria, occurred between 2015 and 2019, in eight African penguins () kept in two Italian zoos located in central Italy, and situated about 30 km apart.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLivestock-associated methicillin-resistant (LA-MRSA) have emerged worldwide as zoonotic pathogens. Data on LA-MRSA in veal calf production in Italy are lacking; the aim of this survey was to fill current knowledge gaps in its prevalence and characteristics. Between February 2012 and January 2013 nasal swabs were taken from 1650 three- to six-month-old veal calves on 55 farms in Piedmont (northwest Italy), including gathering-related epidemiological data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To the best of our knowledge, we describe the first evidence in Europe of an MDR, blaNDM-4-positive Escherichia coli isolated from a food-producing animal, harboured by a novel IncFII plasmid of which we report the complete sequence.
Methods: One blaNDM-4-positive E. coli isolated in 2019 from the caecal contents of a fattening pig in Italy was in-depth characterized by combined bioinformatic analysis of Oxford Nanopore long reads and Illumina short reads, for in silico typing, determination of the blaNDM-4 genetic context and full reconstruction of the blaNDM-4-carrying plasmid.
Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus along the dairy production chain is an emerging public health problem with human, veterinary, and food safety issues. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has steadily increased in several European countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProposals to update the harmonised monitoring and reporting of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from a public health perspective in , , and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) from food-producing animals and derived meat in the EU are presented in this report, accounting for recent trends in AMR, data collection needs and new scientific developments. Phenotypic monitoring of AMR in bacterial isolates, using microdilution methods for testing susceptibility and interpreting resistance using epidemiological cut-off values is reinforced, including further characterisation of those isolates of and showing resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins and carbapenems, as well as the specific monitoring of ESBL/AmpC/carbapenemase-producing . Combinations of bacterial species, food-producing animals and meat, as well as antimicrobial panels have been reviewed and adapted, where deemed necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCompanion animals have been described as potential reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), however data remain scarce. Therefore, the objectives were to describe antimicrobial usage (AMU) in dogs and cats in three European countries (Belgium, Italy, and The Netherlands) and to investigate phenotypic AMR. A questionnaire and one fecal sample per animal ( = 303) were collected over one year and AMU was quantified using treatment incidence (TI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLivestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) clones other than Clonal Complex (CC)398, as CC1, have been isolated in pigs in some countries, and appeared to be prevalent in Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of Sequence Type (ST)1, CC1, LA-MRSA clone to colonize and to be transmitted among piglets. Eighteen caesarean-derived/colostrum-deprived piglets of 35 days of age were assigned randomly to three groups: four seeder piglets were contaminated with a spa type t127, ST1, SCCmec V, MRSA (Group A), 10 MRSA-negative piglets were exposed to Group A after 2 days post-contamination, dpc (Group B) and 4 piglets were used as control group (Group C).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOn 31 August, a veterinarian and a farmworker were hospitalised for skin lesions. Both had been exposed to a dead cow on 19 August on a farm near Rome, where eight further cattle died of confirmed anthrax later the same month. At admission, the first case showed a black depressed eschar and another smaller lesion on one hand.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mycobacterium bovis is known to have a wide host range and has been isolated from numerous free-ranging wildlife species, carnivores included. In bears, M. bovis has been previously reported only from a culture of pooled lymph nodes of a black bear (Ursus americanus) in the absence of lesions.
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