The Role of Hunters in Wildlife Health Research and Monitoring: Their Contribution as Citizen Scientists in Italy.

In Italy, there are hundreds of research, monitoring, and surveillance activities targeting emerging and re-emerging pathogens. These activities heavily rely on hunters for sample collection and early identification of morbidity/mortality events. The objective of this review is to describe and quantify the contribution of hunters in the context of disease research, monitoring, and surveillance in wild populations.

Evaluation of the Risk of African Swine Fever Virus Transmission at the Interface between Feral and Domestic Pigs in Lombardy, with a View to Establishing Preventive Measures for Domestic Pigs.

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread worldwide, and has reached multiple countries across Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific, representing a serious economic burden threatening pig health and welfare, as well as food security. The disease affects domestic pigs and wild boar, and in several European countries the disease is endemic in wild boars. The lack of vaccines or effective treatments highlights the importance of effective control measures used to keep domestic and feral pigs separated to prevent the spread of the virus.

Understanding West Nile virus transmission: Mathematical modelling to quantify the most critical parameters to predict infection dynamics.

West Nile disease is a vector-borne disease caused by West Nile virus (WNV), involving mosquitoes as vectors and birds as maintenance hosts. Humans and other mammals can be infected via mosquito bites, developing symptoms ranging from mild fever to severe neurological infection. Due to the worldwide spread of WNV, human infection risk is high in several countries.

Assessment of the Costs Related to West Nile Virus Monitoring in Lombardy Region (Italy) between 2014 and 2018.

In Italy, the West Nile Virus surveillance plan considers a multidisciplinary approach to identify the presence of the virus in the environment (entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance) and to determine the risk of infections through potentially infected donors (blood and organ donors). The costs associated with the surveillance program for the Lombardy Region between 2014 and 2018 were estimated. The costs of the program were compared with a scenario in which the program was not implemented, requiring individual blood donation nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) to detect the presence of WNV in human samples throughout the seasonal period of vector presence.

Survey on the Presence of Viruses of Economic and Zoonotic Importance in Avifauna in Northern Italy.

Wild birds play an important role in the circulation and spread of pathogens that are potentially zoonotic or of high economic impact on zootechnical production. They include, for example, West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), avian influenza virus (AIV), and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), which, despite having mostly an asymptomatic course in wild birds, have a strong impact on public health and zootechnical production. This study investigated the presence of these viruses in several wild bird species from North Italy during the biennium 2019-2020.

Geographical Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Bank Vole Hepaciviruses in Europe.

The development of new diagnostic methods resulted in the discovery of novel hepaciviruses in wild populations of the bank vole (, syn. ). The naturally infected voles demonstrate signs of hepatitis similar to those induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV) in humans.

Comparative genome analysis of isolated from domestic pigs and wild boars suggests host adaptation and selective pressure from the use of antibiotics.

The disease erysipelas caused by (ER) is a major concern in pig production. In the present study the genomes of ER from pigs (=87), wild boars (=71) and other sources (=85) were compared in terms of whole-genome SNP variation, accessory genome content and the presence of genetic antibiotic resistance determinants. The aim was to investigate if genetic features among ER were associated with isolate origin in order to better estimate the risk of transmission of porcine-adapted strains from wild boars to free-range pigs and to increase our understanding of the evolution of ER.

Widespread occurrence of the non-pathogenic hare calicivirus (HaCV Lagovirus GII.2) in captive-reared and free-living wild hares in Europe.

The Lagovirus genus comprises both pathogenic viruses as European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV- GII.1) and rabbit hemorrhagic disease viruses (RHDV-GI.1 and RHDV2-GI.

Types of pesticides involved in domestic and wild animal poisoning in Italy.

Data obtained from samples of poisoned domestic and wild animals sent for toxicological evaluation during the period between 2005 and 2014 have been analyzed. Among the 4606 tested samples, the majority of which were collected in the northern regions of Italy, 2006 (43.55%) were found positive for pesticides.

The Degree of One Health Implementation in the West Nile Virus Integrated Surveillance in Northern Italy, 2016.

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.

Mosquito species involved in the circulation of West Nile and Usutu viruses in Italy.

Usutu (USUV) and West Nile (WNV) are mosquito-borne Flavivirus emerged in Italy in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and reappeared 10 years later. The aim of this work is to review the Italian mosquito species found positive for WNV and USUV between 2008 and 2014. Moreover, the role of mosquitoes in promoting the overwintering of these viruses is discussed, as a result of the mosquito collections performed in Molise region between September 2010 and April 2011.

Pesticide incidence in poisoned baits: A 10-year report.

The incidence of pesticides in poisoned baits recovered from 2005 to 2014 in Italian northern regions of Emilia Romagna and Lombardy was analysed. A total of 956 baits tested positive for pesticides during the study period. In 9.

West Nile virus transmission: results from the integrated surveillance system in Italy, 2008 to 2015.

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.

Surveillance of Mosquitoes and Selected Arthropod-Borne Viruses in the Context of Milan EXPO 2015.

From 1 May 2015 to 31 October 2015 over 20 million visitors from all over the world visited the Universal Exhibition (EXPO) hosted by Milan (Lombardy region, Italy), raising concerns about the possible introduction of mosquito-borne diseases from endemic countries. The entomological surveillance protocol performed in Lombardy over the last three years was implemented in the EXPO area and in the two major regional airports using both Center for Disease Control CO₂ and Biogents Sentinel traps. This surveillance aimed to estimate the presence and densities of putative vectors, and also to support investigations, including the vector species involved and area of diffusion, on the local spread of Chikungunya, Dengue and West Nile viruses (WNV) by competent vectors.

Identification and Characterization of Fringilla coelebs Papillomavirus 1 (FcPV1) in Free-living and Captive Birds in Italy.

A papillomavirus (PV) was identified by negative-staining electron microscopy in skin lesions of two bird species (Fringillidae) in Italy. Genetic analyses revealed an FcPV1 with a low genetic variability in the E6, E7, E1, E2, and L1 genes and the long control region when compared to the FcPV1 reference strain.

Lead, cadmium and organochlorine pesticide residues in hunted red deer and wild boar from northern Italy.

The objectives of the present study were to assess heavy metal cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and organochlorine pesticide concentrations in tissues of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) from nine hunting areas and to evaluate related risk factors for the host animal. Over a period of 2 years, a total of 1055 and 210 masseters, 424 and 201 livers, 642 and 152 kidneys were collected from wild boar and red deer, respectively, and concentrations of Cd, Pb and organochlorine pesticides were determined. Comparing the two species, Cd concentration in the kidney (3.