Publications by authors named "Flavia Guarneri"

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is a bacterium frequently associated with porcine pleuropneumonia. The acute form of the disease is highly contagious and often fatal, resulting in significant economic losses for pig farmers. Serotype diversity and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of APP strains circulating in north Italian farms from 2015 to 2022 were evaluated retrospectively to investigate APP epidemiology in the area.

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Article Synopsis
  • Optimizing antimicrobial usage (AMU) in livestock is essential to combat antimicrobial resistance, and a study analyzed AMU in over 1,000 cattle herds in Aosta Valley, Italy, from 2008 to 2018.
  • Dairy cows comprised more than 95% of the total AMU, with average annual herd-level AMU being low, but significant use of third and fourth generation cephalosporins and intramammary antimicrobials was noted.
  • The study found decreasing trends in total AMU over time and a positive association with herd size, suggesting the need for ongoing monitoring and prudent AMU practices even in small farms to ensure any potential issues are addressed.
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The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) control strategy within swine breeding farms is based on herd classification relative to PRRSV infection status. This study aims to assess the efficacy of a monitoring plan based on processing fluids (PFs) by comparing it with the classification of herds based on the analysis of blood serum. Twenty-five breeding herds were enrolled in the study, with at least five consecutive batches sampled from each herd.

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  • The rise of colistin resistance is concerning since colistin is a last-resort drug for serious gram-negative bacterial infections in humans.
  • A mobile colistin resistance gene was isolated from a piglet in Italy, marking the first detection of this gene from animal sources in that region.
  • Whole genome sequencing showed the strain was resistant to multiple antibiotics but surprisingly susceptible to colistin, indicating that the gene could persist in an environment with no colistin use due to the presence of other neighboring resistance genes.
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Wastewater-based surveillance enabled the first detection of the mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-10 in Italy. This plasmid-borne resistance gene was found in strains of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae isolated from samples of human raw sewage collected over several months. Although the isolates were phenotypically susceptible to colistin, the emergence of mcr-10 is concerning due to the highly variable expression of the gene and the potential for horizontal transfer to other species.

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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.

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Little is known about how co-infections and genotype dynamics affect Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection in fattening pigs. This study was aimed at assessing the role of co-infections in M. hyopneumoniae outbreaks, their influence on the presence of M.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) respond to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and correlates this response with disease resistance in dairy cows.
  • Isolated PBMCs from cows during different stages around calving were tested for their reaction to LPS and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines.
  • The results indicate that healthy cows manage LPS responses better, while diseased cows show heightened inflammatory responses, suggesting that higher blastogenic responses may be linked to better health outcomes.
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In veterinary medicine, the issue of antimicrobial resistance was mainly addressed in food-producing animals (although companion animals also deserve attention). Indeed, these species may be reservoir of resistant microorganisms, such as extended-spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC (ESBL/AmpC)-producing bacteria. Dogs in particular may transmit them to close-contact humans.

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Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) vaccines are based on either inactivated whole virion, or recombinant ORF2 capsid protein assembled into Virus-like Particles (VLPs). No data are available about the immunizing properties of free, non-assembled capsid protein. To investigate this issue, ORF2 of a reference PCV2b strain was expressed in a Baculovirus-based expression system without assembly into VLPs.

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The health problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) involves several species. AMR surveillance is essential to identify its development and design control strategies; however, available data are still limited in some contexts. The AMR profiles of 2612 strains isolated over a period of 15 years (2002-2016) from calf enteric cases were analyzed to determine the presence of resistance and their temporal dynamics.

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The complex health problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) involves many host species, numerous bacteria and several routes of transmission. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC (ESBL/AmpC)-producing are among the most important strains. Moreover, wildlife hosts are of interest as they are likely antibiotics free and are assumed as environmental indicators of AMR contamination.

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A whole virus, inactivated, Porcine Circovirus 2b (PCV2b) vaccine was submitted to a quantal assay of potency, as explained in detail in our companion paper [1]. To this purpose, twenty, 45-day old piglets, checked for maternally-derived antibody (MDA), were allocated to four groups of 5 animals each; these were vaccinated with 800/266/88/0 nanograms, respectively, of an inactivated PCV2b strain, consisting of two distinct virion populations. Twenty-six days later, all the pigs were challenged intranasally with the homologous PCV2b strain.

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Background: The serovar Typhimurium (4, [5],12:i:1,2), is the most frequently isolated serovar in case of salmonellosis in pigs in Europe and its monophasic variant (4, [5],12:i:-) has been increasingly responsible for Salmonella outbreaks in humans. A total of 25,215 samples were collected, during the years 2002-2017, from 1359 pig farms located in Northern Italy. Samples were collected from different material sources including fecal samples, rectal swabs, gut content and different organs.

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Background: Genotypic variability in M. hyopneumoniae has been reported within and among herds. However, information regarding VNTR types within single lung lobes is lacking.

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Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) vaccines are poorly standardized in terms of antigen payload and correlates of protection. Therefore, twenty, 45-day old piglets were divided into four groups of 5 animals each and vaccinated with 800 / 266 / 88 / 0 nanograms, respectively, of an inactivated PCV2b strain formulated in the same oil adjuvant. Twenty-six days later, all the pigs were challenged intranasally with the homologous PCV2b strain.

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Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) affects farmed swine causing heavy direct and indirect losses. The infections sustained by PRRS viruses (PRRSV-1 and PRRSV-2) may give rise to severe clinical cases. This highlights the issue of PRRSV pathogenicity and relevant markers thereof.

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Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is a complex model of host/virus relationship. Disease control measures often includes "acclimatization", i.e.

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