subsp. in Stranded Cetaceans: A 6-Year Monitoring of the Ligurian Sea in Italy.

subsp. (Pdd) is an increasingly common bacterium in post-mortem diagnostics of beached marine mammals, but little is known about its precise etiological responsibility. To estimate the prevalence of Pdd in stranded cetaceans from 2017 to 2022 on the Ligurian coast (Pelagos Sanctuary), we tested tissues from 53 stranded individuals belonging to four cetacean species.

Pro-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human and Murine Intestinal Cell Lines.

Plastic is a polymer extremely resistant to degradation that can remain for up to hundreds or thousands of years, leading to the accumulation of massive amounts of plastic waste throughout the planet's ecosystems. Due to exposure to various environmental factors, plastic breaks down into smaller particles named microplastics (1-5000 μm) and nanoplastics (<1 μm). Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants but, still, little is known about their effects on human and animal health.

Cadmium and wild boar: Environmental exposure and immunological impact on macrophages.

Cadmium (Cd) is regarded as one of the most toxic heavy metals, which can enter the food chain through environmental contamination and be bioaccumulated. Its exposure in Ligurian wild boars was monitored between 2016-2020 and revealed high level of this heavy metal in different provinces. In one of these polluted area, 21 wild boars were additionally sampled and the relationship between hepatic and renal Cd concentration suggested that majority of these animals presented chronic intoxication.

Retrospective immunohistochemical investigation on dolphin morbillivirus infection by comparing the performance of heterologous monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies - Short communication.

Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) is a pathogen of great concern in free-ranging cetaceans. Confirmation and staging of morbillivirus infections rely on histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC), following molecular detection. As at the present time no specific antibodies (Abs) against DMV are available, two heterologous Abs have been used worldwide for the examinations of morbillivirus infections of cetaceans.