The Natural History of Peyronie's Disease

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Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seropositive Men in Serodiscordant Couples: Effects on the Assisted Reproductive Outcomes

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Outbreak of unusualSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium monophasic variant 1,4 [5],12:i:-, Italy, June 2013 to September 2014

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Epidemiology of West Nile Disease in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin from 2009 to 2013

West Nile virus (WNV) transmission has been confirmed in the last four years in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin. An increasing concern towards West Nile disease (WND) has been observed due to the high number of human and animal cases reported in these areas confirming the importance of this zoonosis. A new epidemiological scenario is currently emerging: although new introductions of the virus from abroad are always possible, confirming the epidemiological role played by migratory birds, the infection endemisation in some European territories today is a reality supported by the constant reoccurrence of the same strains across years in the same geographical areas. Despite the WND reoccurrence in the Old World, the overwintering mechanisms are not well known, and the role of local resident birds or mosquitoes in this context is poorly understood. A recent new epidemiological scenario is the spread of lineage 2 strain across European and Mediterranean countries in regions where lineage 1 strain is still circulating creating favourable conditions for genetic reassortments and emergence of new strains. This paper summarizes the main epidemiological findings on WNV occurrence in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin from 2009 to 2013, considering potential future spread patterns

Mapping the surveillance activities for food-hazards across Europe

Aim: MATRIX is part of the One Health European Joint Programme aiming at the implementation of One Health Surveillance (OHS), through the strengthening of the whole process of surveillance, and the implementation of guidelines for OHS improvement. The Project relies on a problem-based approach and focuses on four hazard-tracks: Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and an emerging threat. As Work Package 2, a mapping of the surveillance chain across all sectors for each hazard-track has been performed from late 2020 to early 2021. Methods: Per each hazard-track, including Hepatitis E selected as the emerging pathogen of interest, a specific food chain was selected to explore in detail the different realities. Twelve online questionnaires were implemented based on the ”farm to fork” approach for the three sectors (animal health, food safety and public health) and each hazard-food chain combination. Surveillance activities in place were investigated in at least two countries for each combination. Results: Salmonella was investigated in humans and pork meat food chain; Listeria in humans and dairy products; Campylobacter in humans and poultry meat; Hepatitis E, in humans and wild boar meat. Answers were categorized in order to be graphically displayed, in: events, actors, data, metadata, event producing data, identified data sources, and sharing potential. Answers of these categories represent the start to identificate cross-sectorial linkages across surveillance chains. Conclusions: The mapping of surveillance activities in place was the first step in the identification of best-practices for multisectorial collaboration. The following phase is the identification of outputs that could be shared for One Health oriented decision-making

Outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) in Abruzzi region, central-Italy

Here we report and characterize a porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) outbreak which occurred in a swine fattening farm in the province of Teramo, Abruzzi region (central Italy), in January 2016. PED virus (PEDV) identification was determined by real-time RT-PCR performed on RNAs purified from fecal samples collected from two symptomatic pigs. Whole genome sequence (PEDV 1842/2016) was also obtained by next generation sequencing straight from RNA purified from one fecal sample. Genome comparison with extant global PEDV strains revealed a high nucleotide identity with recently reported European and American S-INDEL PEDVs. Efficient sequencing, share of genomic data combined with the implementation of epidemiological tools would be the ideal approach for study and analysis of transboundary infectious diseases as PED

Identification of the Novel <i>Streptococcus equi</i> subsp. <i>zooepidemicus</i> Sequence Type 525 in Donkeys of Abruzzo Region, Italy

Streptococcus equi sub. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is described as a commensal bacterium of several animal species, including humans. Growing evidence supports the potential role of SEZ in the onset and progression of severe clinical manifestations of diseases in horses and other animals. In the present communication, we describe the diagnostic procedure applied to characterize the streptococcal infections caused by a novel SEZ sequence type (ST525) in donkeys raised on a farm in Abruzzo, Italy. The diagnostic process began with anamnesis and anatomopathological analysis, which revealed a severe bacterial suppurative bronchopneumonia associated with systemic vascular damage and haemorrhages. Then, SEZ infection was confirmed by applying an integrative diagnostic strategy that included standard bacterial isolation techniques, analytical tools for bacteria identification (MALDI-TOF MS), and molecular analysis (qPCR). Furthermore, the application of the whole-genome sequencing approach helped us to identify the bacterial strains and the virulence factors involved in animal diseases. The novel SEZ-ST525 was identified in two cases of the disease. This new sequence type was isolated from the lung, liver, and spleen in Case 1, and from retropharyngeal lymph nodes in Case 2. Moreover, the presence of the virulence gene mf2, a virulence factor carried by prophages in Streptococcus pyogenes, was also found for the first time in an SEZ strain. The results of the present study highlight the need to apply an integrated diagnostic approach for the identification and tracking of pathogenic strains of SEZ, shedding new light on the re-evaluation of these bacteria as a causative agent of disease in animals and humans

Epidemiological Significance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Dynamic in Naso-Pharyngeal Swabs

From 16 March to 15 December 2020, 132,357 naso-pharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were collected in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo Region, Italy, and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA by a commercially available molecular assay. A total of 12,880 swabs resulted positive. For 8212 positive patients (4.150 women and 4.062 men) the median age was statistically different between women (median: 49.55 ± 23.9 of SD) and men (median: 48.35 ± 23.5 of SD) while no differences were found in the comparison between the cycle threshold for the N protein-encoding gene (CT N) median values and gender. Differences were observed in the CT N gene median values of swabs collected from March to September as well as in the pairwise comparison between September and October and between November and December. The CT N gene median values observed in specific periods characterizing the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in 2020 were also compared with the incidence of COVID-19 cases; a strong inverse correlation was highlighted (Pearson correlation coefficient = −0.978). Our findings confirm the usefulness of the CT N values as an indirect detection parameter to monitor viral loads in the population