Publications by authors named "Maria B Boniotti"

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) causes huge economic losses to pig farms worldwide. Currently available vaccines do not always offer complete protection, due to the extreme variability of the virus. Therefore, good farming practices must be improved to prevent the disease from spreading across the pig production system.

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Lagoviruses are viruses of the Caliciviridae family affecting lagomorphs. Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic lagoviruses affect the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and they are phylogenetically distinguished. Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV/GI.

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The present study retrospectively analyzed the infectious agents associated with 829 abortion outbreaks occurring from 2011 to 2021 in northern Italy. Foetuses were subjected to necropsies, and organ samples were analyzed by direct PCR to screen for six swine pathogens. In 42.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a serious infectious disease affecting both livestock and wildlife, which can also be transmitted to humans, prompting a study in Italy to investigate its genetic makeup and transmission.
  • - Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of two common bTB strains in Italy revealed distinct genetic variations, with Italian isolates showing significant differences from other European strains, highlighting regional differences in infection.
  • - The study found that while there’s limited genetic diversity within specific cattle herds, persistent strains are common in hotspots, underscoring the need for updated control strategies that leverage WGS and promote a One-Health approach to tackle this public health issue.
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Aims: Our study evaluates the capacity of direct real-time PCR for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), with a focus on diagnostic performances and the feasibility of implementing this protocol in an eradication campaign. Specifically, we compare the effectiveness of the direct PCR method to various culture systems used by the Italian National Reference Laboratory over the last decade to detect MTBC.

Methods And Results: Bovine tissue samples were routinely tested and analyzed for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) confirmation using microbiological culture (solid and liquid media), histopathological analysis, and a direct PCR assay targeting IS6110, an insertion sequence specific to the MTBC that is widely used for tuberculosis diagnosis.

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Successful reproductive performance is key to farm competitiveness in the global marketplace. Porcine parvovirus 1 (PPV1) has been identified as a major cause of reproductive failure, and since 2001 new species of porcine parvoviruses, namely PPV2-7, have been identified, although their role is not yet fully understood yet. The present study aimed to investigate PPVs' presence in reproductive failure outbreaks occurring in 124 farms of northern Italy.

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Rotavirus H (RVH) has been detected in humans, pigs and bats. Recently, RVH infections were reported in different porcine farms worldwide, suggesting epidemiological relevance. However, to date, the genome information of RVH strains has been limited due to the scarcity of deposited sequences.

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Tuberculosis (TB) affects humans and other animals, and it is caused by bacteria within the complex (MTBC). In this study, we report the characterisation of that caused a TB case in a sea lion () kept in an Italian zoo. The animal died due to severe, progressive disorders involving the respiratory and gastro-enteric systems and the skin.

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It is important to be able to detect and differentiate between distinct porcine enteric coronaviruses that can cause similar diseases. However, the existence of naturally occurring recombinant coronaviruses such as swine enteric coronavirus (SeCoV) can give misleading results with currently used diagnostic methods. Therefore, we have developed and validated three duplex real-time quantitative RT-PCR assays for the simultaneous detection of, and differentiation between, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and SeCoV.

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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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Article Synopsis
  • 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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Leptospirosis is an infectious disease widely reported in veterinary practice and a worldwide zoonosis. In Northeastern Italy, different serogroups and genotypes of have been described in ill dogs, the most commonly detected being Icterohaemorragiae (ICT) ST 17, Australis (AUS) ST 24 and ST 198, Pomona (POM) ST 117 and ST 289, and Sejroe (SEJ) ST 155. However, there is little information available on the environmental exposure to of wild and synanthropic animals.

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Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases and can infect both humans and animals worldwide. The role of the cat as a susceptible host and potential environmental reservoir of is still not well understood, due to the lack of obvious clinical signs associated with spp. infection in this species.

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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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In this study, we report the detection of a case of Swine enteric Coronavirus (SeCoV) in Northern Italy. The complete genome sequence of 28,081 nucleotides was obtained. This strain had a genome nucleotide identity of 98.

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Rotaviruses are classified in 10 groups (A to J), where rotavirus A (RVA) is the major cause of diarrhea in humans and animals. With some exceptions, there is scarce information on the epidemiology of non-A rotaviruses in human and animal hosts. Currently, five species (A, B, C, E and H) have been identified in pigs.

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Kennels may represent high-risk environments for the diffusion of infection in dogs and consequently a threat to public health. This study describes an outbreak of infection in a kennel in Italy in 2020, both with clinically ill and asymptomatic dogs. Fifty-nine dogs, including three ill dogs, were tested for spp.

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Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, affecting cattle and other mammalian species, such as pigs. In the present work, we developed a novel multi-antigen assay (The TB-Luminex multiplex test) to diagnose bTB in pig sera. Moreover, we investigated the seroreactivity to the different antigens employed (MPB83, MPB70, CFP10 and ESAT6) and the possible correlation with bTB lesions distribution in the positive pigs.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study in Northern Italy investigates the presence of a specific pathogen in wild boar and its potential transmission routes through wild rodents and environmental samples.
  • Out of 120 captured wild rodents, 8 tested positive for the pathogen, with one strain matching those found in local wild boars.
  • Environmental testing showed positive results for the pathogen in some water and mud samples, indicating that rodents may help maintain infections in wild boar populations through contact with contaminated areas.
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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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The European wild boar (WB) () population has rapidly expanded over the years, raising public health concerns over the species reservoir of several pathogens, including (), a complex member. In this study, we aimed to investigate the natural infection in WB in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna Italian regions by statistically evaluating the granulomatous lesions' histological features and microbiological isolation. We analyzed 103 WB retropharyngeal and submandibular lymph nodes (LNs) for identified by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and were retrospectively selected and histologically assessed.

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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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Honeybee and general pollinator decline is extensively reported in many countries, adding new concern to the general biodiversity loss. Many studies were addressed to assess the causes of pollinator decline, concluding that in most cases multi-stress effects were the most probable ones. In this research, the combined effects of two possible stress sources for bees, pesticides and electromagnetic fields (multi-stress conditions), were analyzed in the field.

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 The present study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of BNT162b2 among HCWs of a university hospital while a recrudescence of pandemics was hitting the province, with a high rate of the B.1.1.

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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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