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The Sardinian grass snake, Natrix helvetica cetti, is an island-endemic subspecies with a restricted and highly fragmented distribution confined to Sardinia, Italy. Information on its reproductive biology and wild offspring remain scarce in the scientific literature. This present study reports the first recorded data on a clutch of eggs laid by a wild melanistic female N. h. cetti that exhibited lethargy when observed basking, prompting a brief period of health monitoring and screening for the presence of the pathogenic fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo). The clutch yielded nine hatchlings, for which phenotypic data are provided and compared with existing information on the Natrix natrix complex. Both the adult female and its offspring tested negative in the Oo screening. The body size of the adult grass snake, specifically its snout-to-vent length of 48.3 cm, is the smallest ever recorded for a gravid female N. helvetica. This may indicate that maturity is reached at particularly small sizes, a distinctive trait of this intriguing island subspecies, suggesting the need for further investigation.

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) has caused several outbreaks, unusual mortality events, and interepidemic single-lethal disease episodes in the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2012, a new strain with a northeast (NE) Atlantic origin has been circulating among Mediterranean cetaceans, causing numerous deaths. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of CeMV in cetaceans stranded in Italy between 2018 and 2021 and characterize the strain of CeMV circulating. Out of the 354 stranded cetaceans along the Italian coastlines, 113 were CeMV-positive. This prevalence (31.9%) is one of the highest reported without an associated outbreak. All marine sectors along the Italian coastlines, except for the northern Adriatic coast, reported a positive molecular diagnosis of CeMV. In one-third of the CeMV-positive cetaceans submitted to a histological evaluation, a chronic form of the infection (detectable viral antigen, the absence of associated lesions, and concomitant coinfections) was suspected. Tissues from 24 animals were used to characterize the strain, obtaining 57 sequences from phosphoprotein, nucleocapsid, and fusion protein genes, which were submitted to GenBank. Our sequences showed the highest identity with NE-Atlantic strain sequences, and in the phylogenetic study, they clustered together with them. Regarding age and species, most of these individuals were adults (17/24, 70.83%) and striped dolphins (19/24, 79.16%). This study improves our understanding on the NE-Atlantic CeMV strain in the Italian waters, supporting the hypothesis of an endemic circulation of the virus in this area; however, additional studies are necessary to deeply comprehend the epidemiology of this strain in the Mediterranean Sea.

Swinepox virus (SWPV) is responsible for sporadic acute poxvirus infections in swine worldwide, causing a pathognomonic eruptive proliferative dermatitis. Beside direct and congenital transmission, the pig louse Haematopinus suis acts as a mechanical vector and favors virus infection through skin lesions. Infections are generally described in domestic pigs, while only a few cases have been reported in wild boars, in Austria and Germany. In September 2022, SWPV infection was suspected at post-mortem examination of a wild boar piglet with characteristic lesions in Liguria, Northwest Italy. The piglet was heavily parasitized by swine lice (H. suis). SWPV was then confirmed by histological and molecular analyses. Possible viral co-infections were also investigated (African swine fever virus, classical swine fever virus, parvovirus, circovirus, Aujeszky’s disease virus and hepatitis E virus). This article describes gross and histopathologic features of SWPV infection, differential diagnosis, and potential vector-borne transmission to domestic pigs, presenting a brief review of the literature on the topic. SWPV infection is reported in wild boars in Italy for the first time. The finding of SWPV in a wild boar in an area with a very limited pig population may suggest the existence of a “wildlife cycle” in the area. Further investigations are needed to understand the real risk of transmission of SWPV to domestic pigs as well as the role of other arthropod vectors.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and their rapid spread pose a threat to both human and animal health and may conceal unknown risks. This report describes an Italian human-to-cat outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 (the Alpha variant) . On March 7th, 2021, approximately ten days after COVID-19 appeared in the family, the onset of respiratory signs in a cat by COVID-19-affected owners led to an in-depth diagnostic investigation, combining clinical and serological data with rt-qPCR-based virus detection and whole genome sequencing. The Alpha variant was confirmed first in the owners and a few days later in the cat that was then monitored weekly: the course was similar with one-week lag time in the cat. In addition, based on comparative analysis of genome sequences from our study and from 200 random Italian cases of Alpha variant, the familial cluster was confirmed. The temporal sequence along with the genomic data support a human-to-animal transmission. Such an event emphasizes the importance of studying the circulation and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants in humans and animals to better understand and prevent potential spillover risks or unwarranted alerts involving our pet populations.

Abstract The European Union has implemented breeding programmes to increase scrapie resistance in sheep. A similar approach can be applied also in goats since the K222 allele provides a level of resistance equivalent to that of ARR in sheep. The European Food Safety Authority stated that breeding for resistance could be offered as an option for Member States to control classical scrapie in goats. We assessed the impact of different breeding strategies on PRNP genotype frequencies using a mathematical model that describes in detail the evolution of K222 in two goat breeds, Chamois Coloured and Saanen. Different patterns of age structure and replacement rate were modelled as factors affecting response to selection. Breeding for scrapie resistance can be implemented in goats, even though the initial K222 frequencies in these breeds are not particularly favourable and the rate at which the resistant animals increase, both breeding and slaughtered for meat production, is slow. If the goal is not to achieve the fixation of resistance allele, it is advisable to carry out selection only until a desired frequency of K222-carriers has been attained. Nucleus selection vs. selection on the overall populations is less expensive but takes longer to reach the desired output. The programme performed on the two goat breeds serves as a model of the response the selection could have in other breeds that show different initial frequencies and population structure. In this respect, the model has a general applicability.

Abstract Background The genus Flavivirus comprises several mosquito-borne species, including the zoonotic pathogens West Nile and Usutu virus, circulating in animals and humans in Italy since 1998. Due to its ecological and geographical features, Piedmont is considered a risk area for flavivirus transmission. Here we report the results of a flavivirus survey (detection and genetic characterization) of mosquitoes collected in Piedmont in 2012 and the genetic characterization of three strains detected in 2011. Methods Pools of 1–203 mosquitoes, upon RNA extraction with TRIzol, were screened by a PCR assay for a 263 bp fragment of the Flavivirus NS5 gene. All positive samples were tested with a specific PCR for the E protein gene of Usutu virus and a generic Flavivirus RT-nested-PCR for a larger tract of the NS5 gene before sequencing. Phylogenetic trees were built with both NS5 fragments of representative Flavivirus species. DNA extracts of part of the positive pools were tested to detect sequences integrated in the host genome. Results Thirty-four mosquito pools resulted positive for flaviviruses, and twenty-five flavivirus sequences underwent phylogenetic analysis for the short NS5 fragment. Among the 19 sequences correlating with the insect-specific flavivirus group, ten samples, retrieved from Aedes albopictus, clustered within Aedes flavivirus, while the other nine aggregated in a separate clade composed of strains from various mosquito species (mainly Aedes vexans) from Piedmont and the Czech Republic. Six out of these nine also presented a DNA form of the sequence. The remaining sequences belonged to the mosquito-borne group: four, all from Culex pipiens, correlated to Italian Usutu virus strains, whereas two, from Ochlerotatus caspius, were highly similar to Marisma mosquito virus (MMV). Conclusions Our findings confirm the circulation of Usutu virus and of the potentially zoonotic Marisma mosquito virus in Piedmont. This is the first detection of Aedes flavivirus in Piedmont. Finally, further evidence for the integration of Flavivirus nucleic acid into the host genome has been shown. These results underline the importance of continuing intense mosquito-based surveillance in Piedmont, supported by a mosquito control program in areas at high risk for human exposure.

Salmonella bongori 48:z35:– is considered endemic to Sicily (Italy) due to its epidemiological peculiarity. To our knowledge, no previous cases of human infection caused by S. bongori 48:z35:– have ever been reported in mainland Italy. Here we describe the isolation of S. bongori 48:z35:– from a 1-year-old symptomatic child in northwest Italy (Piedmont Region). The strain showed no antimicrobial resistance. Reporting of S. bongori 48:z35:– in a previously safe area is important to identify epidemiological changes.

Sarcosporidiosis is caused by ingestion of contaminated raw or undercooked bovine meat and, although considered a minor zoonosis, it can represent a threath for immunocompromised people. Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in bovine minced meat intended for raw consumption collected from butcher shops and retail stores in Turin’s province (Piedmont region, Northwest Italy). Twenty-five samples were examined in parallel by histology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence of infestation of Sarcocystis spp. resulted to be 64% [confidence interval (CI) 95% 42- 82] and 88% (CI 95% 69-97) respectively by histology and PCR. In detail, the prevalence resulted 80% for S. cruzi (CI 95% 59-93), 68% for S. hominis (CI 95% 46-85) and 4% for S. hirsuta (CI 95% 0.10-20). The high prevalence of S. hominis highlights that sarcosporidiosis may constitute a public health problem in Italy, particularly in regions like Piedmont, that has traditional dishes prepared from raw or undercooked bovine meat.

Atypical neuropathological and molecular phenotypes of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) have recently been identified in different countries. One of these phenotypes, named bovine "amyloidotic" spongiform encephalopathy (BASE), differs from classical BSE for the occurrence of a distinct type of the disease-associated prion protein (PrP), termed PrP(Sc), and the presence of PrP amyloid plaques. Here, we show that the agents responsible for BSE and BASE possess different biological properties upon transmission to transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP and inbred lines of nontransgenic mice. Strikingly, serial passages of the BASE strain to nontransgenic mice induced a neuropathological and molecular disease phenotype indistinguishable from that of BSE-infected mice. The existence of more than one agent associated with prion disease in cattle and the ability of the BASE strain to convert into the BSE strain may have important implications with respect to the origin of BSE and spongiform encephalopathies in other species, including humans.