Ricerca e identificazione morfologica di Strongili broncopolmonari di cervo (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) e bovino (Bos taurus) nella Regione Valle d’Aosta

Le strongilosi broncopolmonari nei ruminanti domestici e selvatici sono sostenute da nematodi del genere Dictyocaulus spp, agenti eziologici della bronchite parassitaria e causa di importanti danni economici in diversi Paesi del mondo. La conoscenza di questi parassiti, quindi, risulta fondamentale ai fini della salvaguardia del patrimonio zootecnico e faunistico; tuttavia la letteratura disponibile riguardo le strongilosi polmonari, in particolare nei ruminanti selvatici dell\u2019arco alpino, risulta essere limitata. Uno degli obiettivi di questo studio \ue8, pertanto, quello di fornire un panorama sulla presenza delle strongilosi broncopolmonari nel bovino (Bos taurus) e nel cervo rosso (Cervus elaphus) su territorio nazionale e, in particolare nella Regione Valle d\u2019Aosta. Per la ricerca di Strongili sono stati presi in esame i polmoni di 100 bovini di razza Valdostana e di 104 cervi rossi. I bovini sono risultati tutti negativi, mentre 23 cervi sono risultati positivi per la presenza di Strongili polmonari, con una prevalenza di infezione del 22%. Altro punto cardine di questa ricerca \ue8 rappresentato dall\u2019identificazione su base morfologica della specie di Strongilo rinvenuta nel cervo rosso. Per questo sono state effettuate le misure dei caratteri utili ai fini dell\u2019identificazione morfologica e queste sono state confrontate, sia con la specie riconosciuta da tempo nel cervo rosso, Dictyocaulus eckerti, che con la nuova specie recentemente identificata in Polonia: Dictyocaulus cervi n. sp (Pyziel et al, 2017). Queste due specie si distinguono per le misure di diversi caratteri chiave per l\u2019identificazione morfologica. I risultati hanno messo in evidenza una corrispondenza tra i valori delle misure degli Strongili polmonari prelevati e quelle riportate per D. cervi, il che permette di avanzare l\u2019ipotesi secondo cui questa specie sia presente anche in Italia. Questo potrebbe rappresentare, quindi, il primo caso di identificazione di D. cervi n. sp. nel cervo in Italia e non fa altro che confermare la necessit\ue0 di approfondire la ricerca di questi parassiti per risolvere l\u2019annosa questione relativa alla loro tassonomia. Nel tempo diversi studi hanno messo in discussione l\u2019ipotesi secondo cui il cervo possa rappresentare un serbatoio di infezione per il bovino (Divina et al, 2000, Pyziel et al, 2015) e i risultati di questa ricerca forniscono un ulteriore supporto alla tesi secondo cui le strongilosi broncopolmonari siano ad eziologia specie-specifica e non via sia, in natura, la possibilit\ue0 di cross-infezione. Dai parassiti sono stati, inoltre, prelevati campioni da sottoporre a PCR, al fine di confermare o escludere l\u2019ipotesi avanzata dall\u2019indagine morfologica

Tuberculosis in roe deer from Spain and Italy

TUBERCULOSIS (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium (Grange and others 1990). The detection of wildlife reservoirs of disease is important, particularly in areas where there is a relatively low incidence of the disease in domestic animals. Tuberculosis cases in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are reported only sporadically, despite the wide distribution and the abundance of this cervid. Roe deer with TB have been reported in Germany (Schmidt 1938), Switzerland (Bouvier 1963), France (Zanella and others 2008) and the UK (Gunning 1985, Delahay and others 2007). This short communication is the first report of TB in roe deer in Spain and Italy, and discusses the implications of these findings for wildlife and livestock disease control. The prevalence of mycobacterial infections, such as TB and paratuberculosis, seems to be increasing in Spain. Wildlife species may act as disease reservoirs, so this short communication also elucidates the epidemiology of mycobacterial infections in species such as roe deer

Molecular identification and characterization of a genotype 3 hepatitis e virus (HEV) strain detected in a wolf faecal sample, Italy

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. In developed countries, zoonotic transmission of HEV genotypes (Gt) 3 and 4 is caused by the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat of infected pigs and wild boars, the main reservoirs of HEV. However, additional animals may harbour HEV or HEV-related strains, including carnivores. In this study, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of orthohepeviruses in wild canids by screening a total of 136 archival faecal samples, collected from wolves (42) and red foxes (94) in Northwestern Italy. Orthohepevirus RNA was identified in a faecal specimen, collected from a wolf carcass in the province of La Spezia (Liguria Region, Italy). The nearly full-length (7212 nucleotides) genome of the strain HEV/81236/Wolf/2019/ITA (GenBank accession no. MZ463196) was determined by combining a sequence-independent single-primer amplification (SISPA) approach with the Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing platform. Upon phylogenetic analysis, the HEV detected in wolf was segregated into clade HEV-3.1, displaying the highest nucleotide (nt) identity (89.0–93.3%) to Gt3 strains belonging to subtype c. Interestingly, the wolf faecal sample also contained porcine astrovirus sequences, endorsing the hypothesis of a dietary origin of the HEV strain due to preying habits

Molecular detection of canine bufaviruses in wild canids

Novel protoparvoviruses genetically related to human and non-human primate bufaviruses (BuVs) have been detected recently in respiratory and enteric specimens collected from dogs and cats. In this study, by molecular screening of archival collections of faecal samples from wolves and foxes, we detected BuVs with a rate of 17.1% (7/41) and 10.5% (9/86), respectively. Sequence analysis of a portion of the ORF2 gene region of nine positive samples showed that the viruses in these samples were closely related to BuVs (97.5–99.0% nucleotide sequence identity) found in domestic carnivores

Molecular Survey on Kobuviruses in Domestic and Wild Ungulates From Northwestern Italian Alps

Since the first identification in 1989 in humans, kobuviruses (KoVs) have been identified from a wide range of animal species including carnivores, rodents, birds, ungulates, rabbits, and bats. Several studies have described the identification of genetically related KoVs in the fecal virome of domestic and wild animals suggesting a mutual exchange of viruses. By screening a total of 231 fecal samples from wild and domestic ungulates, KoVs RNA was detected in wild boars (3.2%; 2/63), chamois (4.6%; 2/43), and goats (2.6%; 2/77). On phylogenetic analysis of the partial RdRp sequence, the wild boar strains clustered within the species Aichivirus C whilst the strains identified in domestic and wild ruminants grouped into the species Aichivirus B. The complete VP1 gene was obtained for chamois and goat KoVs. Interestingly, upon phylogenetic analysis the strains grouped together with a KoV of ovine origin within a distinct genetic type (B3) of the species Aichivirus B

Surveillance study of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in domestic and wild ruminants in northwestern Italy

In industrialized countries, increasing autochthonous infections of hepatitis E virus (HEV) are caused by zoonotic transmission of genotypes (Gts) 3 and 4, mainly through consumption of contaminated raw or undercooked pork meat. Although swine and wild boar are recognized as the main reservoir for Gt3 and Gt4, accumulating evidence indicates that other animal species, including domestic and wild ruminants, may harbor HEV. Herein, we screened molecularly and serologically serum and fecal samples from two domestic and four wild ruminant species collected in Valle d’Aosta and Piemonte regions (northwestern Italy. HEV antibodies were found in sheep (21.6%), goats (11.4%), red deer (2.6%), roe deer (3.1%), and in Alpine ibex (6.3%). Molecular screening was performed using different primer sets targeting highly conserved regions of hepeviruses and HEV RNA, although at low viral loads, was detected in four fecal specimens (3.0%, 4/134) collected from two HEV seropositive sheep herds. Taken together, the data obtained document the circulation of HEV in the geographical area assessed both in wild and domestic ruminants, but with the highest seroprevalence in sheep and goats. Consistently with results from other studies conducted in southern Italy, circulation of HEV among small domestic ruminants seems to occur more frequently than expected

“MAZE.ROE” project: study of gut microbiota and diet composition of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Italian Alps

The MAZE.ROE research project aims at characterizing the gut microbiota and the diet composition of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Italian Alps, by applying a metataxonomic approach coupled with high-throughput sequencing (Illumina). A total amount of 384 fecal samples, collected from roe deers in the Trento province (years 2013-2014) and the Valle d'Aosta region (2013), were selected for the study. Preliminary results obtained during a pilot study on a limited number of fecal samples deriving from 3 roe deers individuals confirmed the feasibility of the whole project, which is currently in progress

Sarcoptic mange in wild carnivores and its co-occurrence with parasitic helminths in the Western Italian Alps

Between 2001 and 2004, 229 foxes, 36 stone martens and 48 badgers from the western Italian Alps were examined for sarcoptic mange and for gastrointestinal helminths to investigate their prevalence and geographical distribution and to point out the existence of potential interactions among them. Sarcoptic mange was observed in 25.3\ub12.8% SE of foxes and in 5.6\ub13.8% SE of stone martens, while no badger was found infected. Helminths belonged to Cestoidea Cyclophillidea (3.0\ub11.1% SE), Nematoda Trichurida (Capillaria aerophila and Trichuris vulpis: 6.5\ub11.6% SE; Trichinella britovi: 3.0\ub11.1% SE), Ascaridida (12.2\ub12.2% SE) and Strongylida (6.9\ub11.7% SE). Sarcoptic mange infection and the presence of helminths proved to be associated, with mangy foxes showing significantly higher prevalence of both cestode and nematode (particularly Ascaridida) worms. Moreover, considering three clusters of parasites (S. scabiei, nematodes and cestodes), more foxes than expected hosted simultaneously 2 and 3 taxa. These evidences suggest the existence of some kind of interaction, whose modalities and implications are discussed in this paper