Publications by authors named "Fabrizia Valleriani"

Article Synopsis
  • West Nile Virus (WNV) can cause severe neurological diseases like meningitis and encephalitis, particularly affecting vulnerable populations such as the elderly.
  • A case study of a 65-year-old woman reveals rapid worsening of her condition, leading to death within 10 days, despite receiving supportive treatment.
  • The diagnosis was confirmed using nucleic acid amplification testing, and the study highlights the usefulness of nasopharyngeal swabs for virus sampling, emphasizing the need to monitor WNV outbreaks, particularly in areas with known circulation among birds.
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In this paper we describe the validation of a focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT) to quantitate human SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies by using the CTL Immunospot S6 Universal Analyzer. We employed a previously published protocol and compared its performances to a well-established and traditional serum-neutralization assay (SN). To assess diagnostic sensitivity, a total number of 201 human sera positive by SN for SARS-CoV-2 NAbs were processed: 196/201 tested positive by FRNT50 (97.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated a SARS-CoV-2 mutant with a specific ten-amino acid deletion in the spike protein, comparing its effects to the original strain and two Delta variants using K18-hACE2 mice.
  • - Mice were monitored for weight loss, lethality, and clinical symptoms for 14 days after being infected, with various tests conducted to assess viral presence and immune response.
  • - Results showed that the mutant infection led to less viral shedding, reduced lung virulence, and milder lung damage, along with significantly lower levels of certain cytokines, indicating a less severe immune response.
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SARS-CoV-2 was a worldwide threat during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the state of Mato Grosso had the second highest mortality rate in Brazil, with 427. 4 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. However, no large-scale study among dogs and cats in such highly infected areas of Brazil has so far been conducted.

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West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV), two antigenically related flaviviruses co-circulating in Europe, can cause severe neurological disease in animals and humans. The immune response against USUV and WNV and their immunopathogenesis are still poorly investigated. Here we present results upon sequential infections of adult immunocompetent CD-1 and BALB/c mice primed with two different doses (high dose, HD or low dose, LD) of an USUV isolate and challenged with HD or LD of three different WNV isolates.

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SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to lose the furin polybasic cleavage site (FCS) following adaptation on cell culture. Deletion occurring in this region, which may include also the FCS flanking regions, seem not to affect virus replication in vitro; however, a chimeric SARS-CoV-2 virus without the sole FCS motif has been associated with lower virulence in mice and lower neutralization values. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 virus lacking the FCS was shed to lower titers from experimentally infected ferrets and was not transmitted to cohoused sentinel animals, unlike wild-type virus.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has evolved rapidly, leading to viral lineages characterized by multiple mutations in the spike protein, which could potentially confer to the virus the ability to avoid the vaccine-induced immune response, making the vaccines less effective or ineffective. Here, we initially evaluated the neutralization capabilities in vitro by serum neutralization (SN) of six serum samples collected from recipients of the BNT162b2 vaccine against 11 SARS-CoV-2 isolates belonging to the major SARS-CoV-2 lineages that had been circulating in Italy. Then, we considered 30 additional serum samples by SN assay against the dominant B.

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We monitored the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibody response in seven dogs and two cats by using two multispecies ELISA tests, plaque reduction neutralisation test and virus neutralization. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in pets persisted up to 10 months since the first positive testing, thus replicating observations in COVID-19 human patients.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We report the complete sequences of three SARS-CoV-2 P.1 strains obtained from nasopharyngeal swab specimens from three patients returning from Brazil to Italy.

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Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) occurred in Namibia in 2010 and 2011. Complete genome characterization was obtained from virus isolates collected during disease outbreaks in southern Namibia in 2010 and from wildlife in Etosha National Park in 2011, close to the area where RVF outbreaks occurred in domestic livestock. The virus strains were sequenced using Sanger sequencing (Namibia_2010) or next generation sequencing (Namibia_2011).

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There is strong evidence that severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, originated from an animal reservoir. However, the exact mechanisms of emergence, the host species involved, and the risk to domestic and agricultural animals are largely unknown. Some domestic animal species, including cats, ferrets, and minks, have been demonstrated to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, while others, such as pigs and chickens, are not.

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Camelpox is a viral contagious disease of Old-World camelids sustained by (CMLV). The disease is characterized by mild, local skin or severe systemic infections and may have a major economic impact due to significant losses in terms of morbidity and mortality, weight loss, and low milk yield. Prevention of camelpox is performed by vaccination.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Three flocks of sentinel chickens were monitored in different regions (Sejnene, Moknine, Tozeur) from September 2016 to January 2017 to check for WNV antibodies and viral RNA.
  • * The study found a WNV positive rate of 10.7% in Sejnene and 9.8% in Tozeur, with two chickens testing positive for the virus; this shows the use of poultry is effective for monitoring WNV transmission.
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In Tunisia, 86 outbreaks of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) were reported in ovine and caprine herds in 2016. Molecular characterization of PPRV strains was carried out by partial sequencing of nucleoprotein (Np) gene from diagnostic specimens. The results showed that disease outbreaks were caused by virus strains closely related to PPRV strains collected in Egypt in 2014 and 2015.

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Hantaviruses are a group of zoonotic viruses carried by rodents. Puumala virus (PUUV) and Dobrava virus (DOBV) are the causative agents of human hantavirus infections in Europe. Knowledge about hantavirus circulation in Italy is very scarce.

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Following its first identification in Germany in 2011, the Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has rapidly spread to many other European countries. Despite the wide dissemination, the molecular characterization of the circulating strains is limited to German, Belgian, Dutch, and Swiss viruses. To fill this gap, partial genetic characterization of 15 Italian field strains was performed, based on S segment genes.

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