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The genetic and breed susceptibility of visceral hemangiosarcoma in dogs has been studied, but there is no evidence of environmental risk factors as reported in human medicine. We conducted a case-control study in which the sampling population was the list of canine oncology cases of the Animal Tumour Registry of Lazio region, Italy (2009-2017). We defined cases as dogs with visceral hemangiosarcoma and controls as dogs affected by another neoplasm. The ratio between controls and cases was 3:1. Analysed variables were: age, weight, sex, reproductive status, size, breed, nutrition habit, living environment and location of the house. We performed a preliminary univariate analysis to select potential risk factors (p-value0.2) then entered in a forward stepwise logistic regression model. Ninety-three cases enrolled in the study were compared with 279 controls. The multivariable logistic regression identified age, reproductive status and breed as significant risk factors. Results showed an increasing risk with increasing age for age classes 6-10 and10 years old (OR = 9.69, 95 % CI: 1.21-77.62; OR = 14.01, 95 % CI: 1.65-119.03). Neutered animals (male and female) were at greater risk compared to intact ones. The breeds at greatest risk were German shepherd (OR = 4.17, 95 % CI: 1.25-13.86) and mixed breed (OR = 3.50, 95 % CI: 1.44-8.51). The last finding could be explained by the genetic origin of the animals, which may include German shepherd or another possible breed at risk. No other individual or environmental variables were identified as risk factors. The findings of this work indicate that genetic predisposition is the key element in visceral hemangiosarcoma development.

Several seroconversions occurring in 2002 among sentinel cattle during the bluetongue-vaccination campaign in Lazio and Tuscany (central Italy) led to the suspicion of vaccine-virus circulation. Therefore in 2003, 17 seroconverting sentinel herds were investigated for the characteristics of the virus involved. From these farms, 91 unvaccinated animals and 57 Culicoides pools were tested for the presence of the bluetongue vaccine virus (serotype-2) or other strains. The presence of vaccine virus serotype-2 was confirmed by PCR followed by restriction analysis in the whole blood of 17 unvaccinated sentinel cattle and 12 pools of Culicoides imicola or C. obsoletus. Of the 17 herds, five were positive only for vaccine virus serotype-2, four were positive for other strains and two for both the vaccine and other strains; the remaining premises were virologicaly negative. The vaccine virus serotype-2 also was detected in areas not included in the vaccination campaign.

In most European countries, registration and identification of dogs is compulsory. In Italy, the national dog registry is composed of regional dog registries. Although dog registries have been established for many years, the issue related to completeness of data has not been addressed so far. The objective of this study was twofold: first to assess the completeness of data of the dog registry through telephone interview of a sample of dog owners drawn from the dog registry, then to estimate the total owned dog population in 4 boroughs of Rome. For the second objective, a capture–recapture method was applied using data from the dog registry and data from a face-to-face questionnaire submitted to people waiting in the sitting room of 5 points of access for booking and payment of primary and specialist care. Different scenarios are proposed to verify the assumptions of the estimation procedure and potential biases are discussed. The completeness of data of the dog registry was 88.9% (95% CI: 85.8–91.9%) and the owned-dog population was estimated at 26,244 dogs (95% CI: 24,110–28,383). The dog registry is an important source of information especially when it is properly updated and completeness of data is known.