Publications by authors named "Marco Tamba"

West Nile virus (WNV) is one of the most threatening mosquito-borne pathogens in Italy where hundreds of human cases were recorded during the last decade. Here, we estimated the WNV incidence in the avian population in the Emilia-Romagna region through a modelling framework which enabled us to eventually assess the fraction of birds that present anti-WNV antibodies at the end of each epidemiological season. We fitted an SIR model to ornithological data, consisting of 18,989 specimens belonging to Corvidae species collected between 2013 and 2022: every year from May to November birds are captured or shot and tested for WNV genome presence.

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Article Synopsis
  • Documented disease freedom is essential for global trade in animals and animal products, particularly concerning Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) in Italy and Slovenia.
  • The study utilized a scenario tree analysis and a data collection tool from a COST action project to estimate the probability of freedom from EBL from 2018 to 2021, focusing on one surveillance system component (SSC).
  • Findings revealed that Italy had 100% surveillance system sensitivity (SSe) and probability of freedom (PostPFree), while Slovenia showed 50.5% SSe and an 81.6% PostPFree, highlighting differences in their control program effectiveness.
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The natural transmission cycle of West Nile virus (WNV) involves birds as primary hosts and mosquitoes as vectors, but this virus can spread to mammals, human beings included. Asymptomatic infected donors pose a risk to the safety of blood transfusions and organ transplants, as WNV can be transmitted through these medical procedures. Since 2009, the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy has been implementing an integrated surveillance system in order to detect WNV circulation in the environment at an early stage.

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In recent years, the growth of wild ungulates has increased the focus on their health monitoring. In particular, the health status of wild boars is relevant for the economic impact on the pig industry. The Emilia-Romagna region activated a wildlife monitoring plan to better evaluate the health status of the wild boar population.

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West Nile (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) viruses are two mosquito-borne viruses belonging to the family and genus Flavivirus. The natural transmission cycle of WNV and USUV involves mosquitoes and birds, while mammals are thought to be accidental hosts. The goal of this study was to report-in the context of "off-season monitoring" and passive surveillance-the detection of WNV and USUV RNA in wild birds.

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Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection at slaughter are performed by Official Veterinarians and it is essential to identify alterations/lesions, which can make organs/carcasses unsuitable for human consumption. Obviously, carcass condemnation must be regarded as a highly undesirable event for the entire swine industry chain, as it represents the total failure of a long period of challenging work. Therefore, it seems valuable to estimate the prevalence and causes of carcasses condemnation, in order to preserve consumers' health and pig farming profitability.

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This study analyzed data from 6 years (2014-2019) of official controls in the Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy) to investigate the frequencies of human pathogens and chemical hazards in foods during production and distribution. Campylobacter spp. was the most prevalent pathogen, isolated in 4.

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In the last decade, an upsurge of human leishmaniasis has been reported in the Emilia-Romagna region, Northeast Italy. Epidemiologic data have raised doubts about the role of dogs as the main reservoirs for . In the present study, a total of 1,077 wild animals were screened for DNA in earlobe and spleen samples from 2019 to 2022.

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(group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a causative agent of mastitis in dairy cattle, mainly causing a subclinical disease associated with a high somatic cell count (SCC), and a consequent decrease in production yield and quality of milk. GBS has been almost eradicated in many Northern European countries, but there are warnings of its re-emergence as a zoonotic threat. In Italy, only two regions carry out a GBS control program: Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna.

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West Nile (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) viruses are mosquito-borne flaviviruses. Thanks to their importance as zoonotic diseases, a regional plan for surveillance of Arboviruses was implemented in Emilia-Romagna in 2009. The province of Ferrara belongs to the Emilia-Romagna region, and it is an endemic territory for these viruses, with favorable ecological conditions for abundance of mosquitoes and wild birds.

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The cattle industry is a major driving force for the Italian agricultural sector totalling about 5. 6 million heads for dairy and meat production together. It is particularly developed in the northern part of the country, where 70% of the whole Italian cattle population is reared.

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African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable viral disease of pigs and wild boars that could lead to serious economic losses for the entire European pork industry. As no effective treatment or vaccination is available, disease prevention and control rely on strictly enforced biosecurity measures tailored to the specific risk factors of ASF introduction within domestic pig populations. Here, we present a review addressing the risk factors associated with different European pig farming systems in the context of the actual epidemiological scenario.

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Swine vesicular disease (SVD) is a contagious viral disease of pigs clinically indistinguishable from other vesicular diseases, such as foot and mouth disease, vesicular stomatitis, vesicular exanthema of swine, and idiopathic vesicular disease. In Italy, where SVD was first reported in 1966, an eradication program started in 1995. The program, updated in 2008, was based on regionalization, complete control on pig movements, improvement of pig farms biosecurity, appropriate cleansing and disinfection procedures of vehicles approved for pig transportation, and a testing program using both serological and virological assays.

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Article Synopsis
  • The West Nile virus (WNV) has been a growing health concern in Europe since 2008 due to annual human cases, with a notable increase in 2018 in Italy.
  • An integrated surveillance plan in Northern Italy, specifically in Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, collected over 385,000 mosquitoes to monitor WNV circulation, revealing that the virus spread more rapidly and intensely than in previous years.
  • Data showed a significant correlation between mosquito populations and WNV incidence, while temperature played a crucial role in influencing mosquito infection rates, indicating it drives the virus's propagation across the regions.
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Article Synopsis
  • * An investigation into bTB outbreaks occurred among three dairy herds in Parma, Italy, which is officially free of bTB, revealing no positive animals in routine tests conducted every three years.
  • * Finding tubercular lesions during post-mortem examinations of slaughtered cattle underscores the necessity of veterinary inspections, highlighting the risk of undetected infections even in regions claimed to be free of bTB.
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Background: West Nile virus (WNV) transmission was much greater in 2018 than in previous seasons in Europe. Focusing on Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy), we analyzed detailed entomological and epidemiological data collected in 2013-2018 to quantitatively assess environmental drivers of transmission and explore hypotheses to better understand why the 2018 epidemiological season was substantially different than the previous seasons. In particular, in 2018 WNV was detected at least two weeks before the observed circulation in 2013-2017 and in a larger number of mosquito pools.

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Biomonitoring has been used to disclose the public health impact of contaminated sites. This study aimed at setting up good practices to apply biomonitoring targeting animal matrixes to design risk-based surveillance and exposure assessment plans. A nine-step protocol targeting farmed animals was devised and tested in three case study areas including (1) a waste dump, (2) a waste incinerator, and (3) a secondary aluminum smelter.

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Since 2013 in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, surveillance information generated in the public health and in the animal health sectors has been shared and used to guide public health interventions to mitigate the risk of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission via blood transfusion. The objective of the current study was to identify and estimate the costs and benefits associated with this One Health surveillance approach, and to compare it to an approach that does not integrate animal health information in blood donations safety policy (uni-sectoral scenario). Costs of human, animal, and entomological surveillance, sharing of information, and triggered interventions were estimated.

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In Europe, Trichinella spiralis, the most dangerous species for humans of the genus Trichinella, has a patchy distribution with important foci in Eastern countries and Spain. This zoonotic pathogen was apparently not circulating among wild and domestic animals of Italy. In 2016, muscle larvae belonging to this nematode species were detected in a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) shot in the Piacenza province (Northern Italy).

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West Nile virus (WNV) is endemic in the Po valley area, Northern Italy, and within the legal framework of the national plan for the surveillance of human vector-borne diseases, WNV surveillance has over time been implemented. The surveillance plans are based on the transdisciplinary and trans-sectorial collaboration between regional institutions involved in public, animal, and environmental health. This integrated surveillance targets mosquitoes, wild birds, humans, and horses and aims at early detecting the viral circulation and reducing the risk of infection in the human populations.

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West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV), genus Flavivirus, are members of the Japanese encephalitis virus antigenic complex, and are maintained primarily in an enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds. WNV is zoonotic, and poses a threat to public health, especially in relation to blood transfusion. Serosurveillance of wild birds is suitable for early detection of WNV circulation, although concerns remain to be addressed as regards i) the type of test used, whether ELISA, virus neutralization test (VNT), plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), ii) the reagents (antigens, revealing antibodies), iii) the different bird species involved, and iv) potential cross-reactions with other Flaviviruses, such as USUV.

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In Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillance systems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillance systems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to define and update the map of affected areas i.

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Article Synopsis
  • West Nile virus (WNV) has re-emerged as a health concern in Europe, especially in northern Italy, with increased outbreaks and human cases since 2008.
  • In 2013, extensive entomological surveillance identified 562,079 mosquitoes, with a notable 1.9% testing positive for WNV, primarily of lineage II, and also detected the related Usutu virus in 2.6% of mosquito pools.
  • The study found that Culex pipiens mosquitoes were the main WNV vectors, and the conditions in areas with higher mosquito abundance were warmer and less rainy, promoting WNV circulation.
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