Double trouble: Co-infection of and in golden jackal () in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

This study reports the first co-infection of and two nematodes affecting canid cardiopulmonary systems, in golden jackals () in Italy. Data on golden jackal carcasses, recovered in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) from 2020 to 2023, were recorded using InfoFaunaFVG wildlife monitoring network. Out of 60 necropsied golden jackals, 24 tested positive for either pathogen, with 3 animals displaying co-infection.

Assessing Red Fox () Demographics to Monitor Wildlife Diseases: A Spotlight on .

The assessment of red fox population density is considered relevant to the surveillance of zoonotic agents vectored by this species. However, density is difficult to estimate reliably, since the ecological plasticity and elusive behavior of this carnivore hinder classic methods of inference. In this study, red fox population density was estimated using a non-invasive molecular spatial capture-recapture (SCR) approach in two study areas: one in a known hotspot of the zoonotic cestode , and another naïve to the parasite.

(CPV-2 and FPV) Circulating in Wild Carnivores and in Puppies Illegally Imported into North-Eastern Italy.

The illegal trade of animals poses several health issues to the global community, among which are the underestimated risk for spillover infection and the potential for an epizootic in both wildlife and domestic naïve populations. We herein describe the genetic and antigenic characterization of viruses of the specie detected at high prevalence in puppies illegally introduced in North Eastern Italy and compared them with those circulating in wild carnivores from the same area. We found evidence of a wide diversity of canine parvoviruses (CPV-2) belonging to different antigenic types in illegally imported pups.

Identification of Dobrava-Belgrade Virus in from North-Eastern Italy during Enhanced Mortality.

Hantaviruses include several zoonotic pathogens that cause different syndromes in humans, with mortality rates ranging from 12 to 40%. Most commonly, humans get infected through the inhalation of aerosols or dust particles contaminated with virus-containing rodent excreta. Hantaviruses are specifically associated with the host species, and human cases depend on the presence and the dynamics of reservoir hosts.

Environmental Exposure of Wild Carnivores to Zoonotic Pathogens: Infection in the First Free Living Wolf ( Linnaeus, 1758) Found Dead in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.

Leptospirosis is a worldwide-spread zoonosis causing disease and death in dogs and in humans. A Leptospiral infection has been recorded in several wild carnivore species in Europe, but tissue pathological changes were not commonly described. The Grey wolf () has been expanding its distribution range in north-eastern Italy during the last decade.

Echinococcus multilocularis and other cestodes in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) of northeast Italy, 2012-2018.

Background: Echinococcus multilocularis is a small tapeworm affecting wild and domestic carnivores and voles in a typical prey-predator life cycle. In Italy, there has been a focus of E. multilocularis since 1997 in the northern Italian Alps, later confirmed in red foxes collected from 2001 to 2005.

Two waves of canine distemper virus showing different spatio-temporal dynamics in Alpine wildlife (2006-2018).

Canine distemper virus (CDV) represents an important threat for both wild and domestic carnivores. Since 2006, the North-Eastern regions in Italy have been experiencing severe and widespread recurring outbreaks of CDV affecting the wild carnivore population. In this study we performed an extensive phylogeographic analysis of CDV strains belonging to the Wildlife-Europe genetic group identified between 2006 and 2018 in Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions.

A distinct CDV genotype causing a major epidemic in Alpine wildlife.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection represents an important conservation threat to many carnivore species and has contributed to the population decline of several wild terrestrial and aquatic mammalian species. Since 2006, the Alpine region of North-Eastern (NE) Italy has been experiencing a severe and widespread outbreak of CDV affecting the wild carnivore population. In this study we performed an extensive phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analysis of CDV identified during the recent wildlife epidemic in the Alpine region.

Early detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus spatial distribution and activity in the province of Trento, northern Italy.

New human cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) have recently been recorded outside the recognised foci of this disease, i.e. in the province of Trento in northern Italy.