Emergence of tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus in Italy: estimation of incidence and genetic diversity

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) identified for the first time in 1995 in Asia, from where it spread into several countries of the Mediterranean basin. ToLCNDV was found in Spain in 2012, and subsequently in Tunisia and Italy. The first outbreak in Italy occurred at the end of 2015 in Trapani province (Sicily) on zucchini squashes. Then in 2016, ToLCNDV was found in infected zucchini plants in Campania, Lazio and Sardinia regions, and in 2017 in Calabria. This study addressed the dispersion and genetic diversity of ToLCNDV isolates in Italy. A total of 1400 plants were analysed. Phylogenetic analysis showed low variability among the Italian isolates, probably as a consequence of the recent introduction and rapid spread of this virus in Italy. Two statistically significant clusters were reported: one grouping only Italian isolates and the other grouping Italian, Spanish, Tunisian and Moroccan isolates. Furthermore, the highest incidence of ToLCNDV was observed in Sicily, although the disease also appears to be critical in other Italian regions. In this work, a high efficiency of ToLCNDV mechanical transmission into Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis melo inodorus and Cucumis melo cantalupensis has been demonstrated. The rapid spread of ToLCNDV in the Mediterranean basin represents a threat for horticultural production, thus it is very important to develop suitable crop management practices, applying genetic resistance strategies and more restrictive phytosanitary measures

Epidemiology, Clinical Features and Prognostic Factors of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results From an Italian Multicenter Study

Background: Many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents remain unclear and optimal treatment is debated. The objective of our study was to investigate epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on risk factors for complicated and critical disease. Methods: The present multicenter Italian study was promoted by the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, involving both pediatric hospitals and general pediatricians/family doctors. All subjects under 18 years of age with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection and referred to the coordinating center were enrolled from March 2020. Results: As of 15 September 2020, 759 children were enrolled (median age 7.2 years, IQR 1.4; 12.4). Among the 688 symptomatic children, fever was the most common symptom (81.9%). Barely 47% of children were hospitalized for COVID-19. Age was inversely related to hospital admission (p < 0.01) and linearly to length of stay (p = 0.014). One hundred forty-nine children (19.6%) developed complications. Comorbidities were risk factors for complications (p < 0.001). Viral coinfections, underlying clinical conditions, age 5-9 years and lymphopenia were statistically related to ICU admission (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Complications of COVID-19 in children are related to comorbidities and increase with age. Viral co-infections are additional risk factors for disease progression and multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporarily related to COVID-19 (MIS-C) for ICU admission