Seroprevalencija virusa hepatitisa E u krava s ruralnih područja južne Italije

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered to be an emerging zoonotic disease, which causes numerous cases of hepatitis and deaths worldwide each year. Pigs are a host reservoir of HEV, but numerous other wild and domestic species can be infected. The aim of this study was to carry out serological screening of anti-HEV antibodies in cattle in the Sicily region (Southern Italy). Between April and December 2018, 231 serum samples were collected from cows and analysed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for detection of HEV antibodies (IgG). The overall prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies was 36.36% (84/231; 95% CI 30-43). There were statistically significant differences in the HEV seroprevalence in animals of different ages (12 months: 39.30%; >24 months: 54.10%) (P0.05). This study shows that further investigation of HEV in cattle is required to understand better the epidemiology in farm animals and the potential zoonotic risks for humans. This is the first report of HEV seroprevalence for cows in Italy, which provides baseline data for further studies and for control of HEV infection in cattle.Virus hepatitisa E (HEV) smatra se emergentnom zoonozom koja uzrokuje brojne slučajeve hepatitisa i uginuća širom svijeta svake godine. Svinja je rezervoar HEV-a, no mogu se zaraziti i brojne druge divlje i domaće vrste. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je provesti serološki probir anti-HEV protutijela u goveda na Siciliji (južna Italija). Od travnja do prosinca 2018. prikupljen je ukupno 231 uzorak seruma krava i analiziran testom ELISA za detekciju protutijela na HEV (IgG). Prevalencija anti-HEV protutijela bila je 36,36 % (84/231; 95 % CI 30 – 43). Pronađena je statistički znakovita razlika (P 12 mjeseci: 39,30 %; > 24 mjeseci: 54,10 %). Nije zabilježena statistički znakovita razlika (P> 0,05) s obzirom na spol (31,37 % u mužjaka i 37,38 % u ženki). Rezultati ukazuju na potrebu daljnjih istraživanja HEV-a u goveda kako bi se bolje razumjela epidemiologija u farmskih životinja i potencijalan zoonotski rizik za ljude. Ovo je prvo izvješće o seroprevalenciji HEV-a u krava u Italiji, kojim se pružaju referentni podaci za daljnja istraživanja i kontrolu infekcije HEV-om u goveda

Viral Encephalopathy and Retinopathy (VER) in Mediterranean wild and farmed fish species : the experience of the ‘Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale’ in Sicily

Betanodavirus infection is widespread in a broad spectrum of fish species worldwide. In Italy, it is responsible for outbreaks of Viral Encephalo-Retinopathy (VER) that causes mortality and economic losses in sea fish farming. The infection is also widespread in the wild and not only in managed systems, where there are generally no observed clinical manifestations.peer-reviewe

Molecular characterization of human enteric viruses in food, water samples, and surface swabs in Sicily

Objectives: Enteric viruses are responsible for foodborne and waterborne infections affecting a large number of people. Data on food and water viral contamination in the south of Italy (Sicily) are scarce and fragmentary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of viral contamination in food, water samples, and surface swabs collected in Sicily Methods: The survey was conducted on 108 shellfish, 23 water samples (seawater, pipe water, and torrent water), 52 vegetables, one peach and 17 berries, 11 gastronomic preparations containing fish products and/or raw vegetables, and 28 surface swabs. Hepatitis A virus (HAV), genogroup GI, GII, and GIV norovirus (NoV), enterovirus (EV), rotavirus (RoV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), adenovirus (AdV), and bocavirus (BoV) were detected by nested (RT) PCR, real-time PCR, and sequence analysis. Results: The most frequently detected viruses in shellfish were HAV (13%), NoV (18.5%), and EV (7.4%). Bocavirus was found in 3.7%, HEV in 0.9%, and AdV in 1.9% of the molluscs. Of the 23 water samples, 21.7% were positive for GII NoV and 4.3% for RoV and HEV genotype 3. Of the 70 vegetable samples, 2.9% were positive for NoV GI (GI.5 and GI.6), 2.9% for EV, and 1.4% for HEV. In the gastronomic preparations, only one EV (9%) was detected. No enteric viruses were detected in the berries, fruit, or swabs analyzed. Conclusions: Molecular surveillance of water and food samples clearly demonstrated that human pathogenic viruses are widely found in aquatic environments and on vegetables, and confirmed the role of vegetables and bivalve molluscs as the main reservoirs. Keywords: Enteric virus, PCR, Genotyping, Shellfish, Waters, Vegetable

Valutazione di alcuni indici di stress correlati al differente tipo di management in bovini affetti da Diarrea Virale Bovina/Malattia delle Mucose (BVD-MD) e Theileriosi

Convegno virtuale - "Risultati dell'attività di ricerca dell'IZS Sicilia" , 14 settembre 2020, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palerm

Hepatitis E Virus Occurrence in Pigs Slaughtered in Italy

In Europe, foodborne transmission has been clearly associated to sporadic cases and small clusters of hepatitis E in humans linked to the consumption of contaminated pig liver sausages, raw venison, or undercooked wild boar meat. In Europe, zoonotic HEV-genotype 3 strains are widespread in pig farms but little information is available on the prevalence of HEV positive pigs at slaughterhouse. In the present study, the prevalence of HEV-RNA positive pigs was assessed on 585 animals from 4 abattoirs located across Italy. Twenty-one pigs (3.6%) tested positive for HEV in either feces or liver by real-time RT-PCR. In these 21 pigs, eight diaphragm muscles resulted positive for HEV-RNA. Among animals collected in one abattoir, 4 out of 91 plasma tested positive for HEV-RNA. ELISA tests for the detection of total antibodies against HEV showed a high seroprevalence (76.8%), confirming the frequent exposure of pigs to the virus. The phylogenetic analyses conducted on sequences of both ORF1 and ORF2 fragments, shows the circulation of HEV-3c and of a novel unclassified subtype. This study provides information on HEV occurrence in pigs at the slaughterhouse, confirming that muscles are rarely contaminated by HEV-RNA compared to liver, which is the most frequently positive for HEV

Pilot Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in the Island of Sicily Prior to and in the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

8 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figuras. The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510944; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510945; https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510946; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/genbank/, OM510947; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510948; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510949; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM51 0950; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510951; and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, OM510952.After 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to face vital challenges stemming from SARS-CoV-2 variation, causing changes in disease transmission and severity, viral adaptation to animal hosts, and antibody/vaccine evasion. Since the monitoring, characterization, and cataloging of viral variants are important and the existing information on this was scant for Sicily, this pilot study explored viral variants circulation on this island before and in the growth phase of the second wave of COVID-19 (September and October 2020), and in the downslope of that wave (early December 2020) through sequence analysis of 54 SARS-CoV-2-positive samples. The samples were nasopharyngeal swabs collected from Sicilian residents by a state-run one-health surveillance laboratory in Palermo. Variant characterization was based on RT-PCR amplification and sequencing of four regions of the viral genome. The B.1.177 variant was the most prevalent one, strongly predominating before the second wave and also as the wave downsized, although its relative prevalence decreased as other viral variants, particularly B.1.160, contributed to virus circulation. The occurrence of the B.1.160 variant may have been driven by the spread of that variant in continental Europe and by the relaxation of travel restrictions in the summer of 2020. No novel variants were identified. As sequencing of the entire viral genome in Sicily for the period covered here was restricted to seven deposited viral genome sequences, our results shed some light on SARS-CoV-2 variant circulation during that wave in this insular region of Italy which combines its partial insular isolation with being a major entry point for the African immigration.This research received external funding to CR-G and EM from “Agencia Valenciana de Innovación: COVID-19, Ayudas de Concesión Directa a Soluciones Científico-Innovadoras Directamente Relacionadas Con La Lucha Contra La COVID-19,” (Ref COVID-19-203) and from “Conselleria de Innovación Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital: Subvenciones a Grupos de Investigación Emergentes” (Ref, GV/2021/163); to VR from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Government (Ref PID2020-120322RB-C21) and from the European Commission–NextGeneration EU CSIC Global Health Platform, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ref MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033); and to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri” by the Project “COVID-19: Traiettorie Evolutive di SARS-CoV-2 ed Indagine Sul Ruolo Degli Animali” (IZS SI 03/20 RC), funded by the Italian Ministry of Health.Peer reviewe

Genome Analysis Linking Recent European and African Influenza (H5N1) Viruses

Although linked, these viruses are distinct from earlier outbreak strains

Detection of human enteric viruses in water and shellfish samples collected in Sicily

Historical flora and/or vegetation surveys highlight how the small islands of the Ionian coast of Sicily (Bella, Ciclopi islands, Vendicari, Capo Passero), currently protected as Nature Reserves and/or part of the Natura 2000 network have undergone major landscape changes following alterations in anthropogenic pressure. Landscape changes have been more prominent for the islands located in the northern part of the Ionian coast, with the consequence of increasing populations of invasive alien species. In contrast, landscape changes have decreased in the southernmost islands as indicated by the recovery of natural wood vegetation.peer-reviewe

A SARS-CoV-2 full genome sequence of the B.1.1 lineage sheds light on viral evolution in Sicily in late 2020

9 páginas, 2 figuras, 2 tablasTo investigate the influence of geographic constrains to mobility on SARS-CoV-2 circulation before the advent of vaccination, we recently characterized the occurrence in Sicily of viral lineages in the second pandemic wave (September to December 2020). Our data revealed wide prevalence of the then widespread through Europe B.1.177 variant, although some viral samples could not be classified with the limited Sanger sequencing tools used. A particularly interesting sample could not be fitted to a major variant then circulating in Europe and has been subjected here to full genome sequencing in an attempt to clarify its origin, lineage and relations with the seven full genome sequences deposited for that period in Sicily, hoping to provide clues on viral evolution. The obtained genome is unique (not present in databases). It hosts 20 single-base substitutions relative to the original Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence, 8 of them synonymous and the other 12 encoding 11 amino acid substitutions, all of them already reported one by one. They include four highly prevalent substitutions, NSP12:P323L, S:D614G, and N:R203K/G204R; the much less prevalent S:G181V, ORF3a:G49V and N:R209I changes; and the very rare mutations NSP3:L761I, NSP6:S106F, NSP8:S41F and NSP14:Y447H. GISAID labeled this genome as B.1.1 lineage, a lineage that appeared early on in the pandemic. Phylogenetic analysis also confirmed this lineage diagnosis. Comparison with the seven genome sequences deposited in late 2020 from Sicily revealed branching leading to B.1.177 in one branch and to Alpha in the other branch, and suggested a local origin for the S:G118V mutation.This research received external funding to CR-G from Conselleria de Innovación Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital: Subvenciones a Grupos de Investigación Emergentes (Ref, GV/2021/163); to VR from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Government (Ref PID2020-120322RB-C21) and the European Commission-NextGeneration EU CSIC Global Health Platform, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ref MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033); and to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia A. Mirri by the Project COVID-19: Traiettorie Evolutive di SARS-CoV-2 ed Indagine Sul Ruolo Degli Animali (IZS SI 03/20 RC), funded by the Italian Ministry of HealthPeer reviewe

Using smart PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in waste management. Advantages and disadvantages

Once hazards for workers are highlighted, engineering and administrative controls should be adopted in workplaces and, finally, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In Italy, INAIL is involved in studying the application of the national plan “Industry 4.0” to safety in workplaces and in improving the protective systems’ performances through the use of “Industry 4.0” devices. Smart PPE are “Industry 4.0” products representing the most interesting way to increase protection standards in risk management. Smart PPE are advanced PPE, integrating materials, sensors and ICT solutions enhancing product multi-functionality. Many functions can be integrated in Smart PPE: health and environmental monitoring; wireless communication; personal localization (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS); cooling and heating; additional functions as an emergency stop or hazard reduction; smart textiles; wireless tracking and identification; physical security information management; augmented reality. There are advantages and disadvantages in using these items, to be taken into account for workers’ safety. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of smart PPE’s pros and consreferring to every phase of solid waste management, one of the most hazardous employment sectors in Europe, where PPE are essential to reduce risks. Moreover, some interesting features of existing smart PPE will be pointed out, such as the communication based on Bluetooth or RFID TAGs and sensors, the face recognition, or the integration of augmented reality. Finally, the first results of INAIL’s project about a smart PPE will be illustrated. At the end of the project activities this item will be available free of charge