RESUMEN
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a contagious non-zoonotic viral disease of cattle. The disease raises great concern due to the recent rapid spread toward free countries and reoccurrence in countries where control and preventive measures had achieved eradication. Deep nodules involving skin, subcutaneous tissue, and occasionally muscles are localized mostly in the head, neck, perineum, genitalia, udder, and limbs. LSD can cause large economic losses mainly because of the decline in milk production and the decrease in hide value, in addition to the ban of movement of animals and animal products.
Asunto(s)
Dermatosis Nodular Contagiosa , Virus de la Dermatosis Nodular Contagiosa , Animales , Dermatosis Nodular Contagiosa/prevención & control , Bovinos , FemeninoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Nowadays there is a worldwide consensus on the importance of conducting wildlife disease surveillance. Indeed, 60% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in nature, and the majority of these (71.8%) originate in wildlife. Surveillance of wildlife diseases is crucial to prevent negative effects on human and animal health. Data digitization and sharing are among the main goals for the present and coming years. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly used to analyze the geographical distribution of diseases and the relationships between pathogenic factors and their geographic environments. METHODS: Wild animal's samples collected in the Abruzzo and Molise regions and delivered to our laboratory are entered in our Laboratory Information System and processed to be displayed through the Web-GIS mash-up presented in this paper. We built it using both open source and proprietary solutions, to produce data driven interactive maps, charts and tables to help to understand the epidemiology of wild animal diseases, their spread and trend. RESULTS: Since 2013, 9.606 samples collected from wild animals have been analyzed in the laboratories of the IZS-Teramo and have been recorded in the system, facilitating the reporting to the judicial authorities and the identification of highly risky areas to set up control and repression measures. Moreover, thanks to the monitoring health protocol, a canine distemper epidemic in wolves has been detected and monitored in its temporal and spatial evolution, as well as cases of bovine tuberculosis in wild boars. CONCLUSIONS: While it is more evident that the starting point is to choose the right sampling method, it is for sure less obvious that the information system in which data is stored is equally important. In fact, it should give the possibility to consult it in an easy and instructive way. GIS allows immediately grasping the spatial relationships between the data itself and those between the data and the territory; it is an important tool to support veterinary services in managing epidemic and non-epidemic emergencies and performing epidemiological investigations, but also to examine control plans and identify new gaps and challenges.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades de los Animales , Enfermedades de los Porcinos , Humanos , Porcinos , Animales , Animales Salvajes , Sistemas de Información Geográfica , Enfermedades de los Animales/epidemiología , Sus scrofa , Italia/epidemiología , InternetRESUMEN
Fipronil is an insecticide which is not approved for use in any food-producing animal species in the European Union (EU). However, the inappropriate use of fipronil in mites' disinfestation products utilized in poultry farms in the Netherlands and other EU countries in 2017, led to the detection of residues of this pesticide in eggs across Europe. In Italy, a national monitoring plan was established to verify the possible misuse of fipronil in Italian laying hens. Out of 577 sampled farms, 23 eggs resulted contaminated (4.0%; 95% CI: 2.7%-5.9%). A higher prevalence of contamination was observed in flocks kept on cage (8.7%; 95% CI: 6.0% -12.4%) than on ground (1.6%; 95% CI: 0.7% -3.7%); Chi-square = 16.1; P <0.001). The results allowed developing a stochastic model for estimating the risk of fipronil ingestion through the consumption of contaminated table eggs for the Italian consumer. The probability that an individual ingests a dose of fipronil greater than the acute reference dose (ARfD, equal to 0.009 mg/kg body weight) was assessed as very low, ranging from values very close to 0 in people with more than 10 years of age and 0.0007 in infants less than 3 years.
Asunto(s)
Pollos , Contaminación de Alimentos , Animales , Femenino , Contaminación de Alimentos/análisis , Óvulo , Italia/epidemiología , Ingestión de AlimentosRESUMEN
During the period 2004-2014 in the Abruzzi region (Central Italy), muscle samples gathered from hunted wild boars (n=16,323) and retrieved from carcasses of other susceptible wild mammals (n=838) and birds (n=438) were tested for Trichinella larvae according to European Union regulations. Although no positive samples were found from wild birds, 91 wild mammals tested positive. Six species were found to harbor Trichinella spp. infections, namely wolf (Canis lupus, 59 positive samples out of 218), red fox (Vulpes vulpes, 24/480), wild boar (Sus scrofa, 3/16,323), stone marten (Martes foina, 2/27), pine marten (Martes martes, 2/6) and wildcat (Felis silvestris, 1/8). All isolates tested for species attribution belonged to Trichinella britovi. The overall prevalence was 0.52% (IC 95%: 0.4-0.6). The higher frequency of positive samples in wolf, compared to red fox, was statistically significant (p=0.001). In spite of the limited geographical area of investigation and the random nature of sampling, this study provides new data on the circulation of T. britovi in Italy. In particular, the highest prevalence being found among wolves allows us to consider this species as a sentinel for T. britovi infection in the investigated area, and probably also in other apennine regions, which is different from the alpine regions where the red fox was reputed as the primary reservoir of Trichinella spp. infection.
Asunto(s)
Trichinella/clasificación , Triquinelosis/veterinaria , Lobos/parasitología , Animales , Enfermedades Endémicas/veterinaria , Italia/epidemiología , Triquinelosis/parasitología , Triquinelosis/transmisiónRESUMEN
The maintenance of tick-borne disease agents in the environment strictly depends on the relationship between tick vectors and their hosts, which act as reservoirs for these pathogens. A pilot study aimed to investigate wild rodents as reservoirs for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum) was carried out in an area of Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park (Abruzzi Region, central Italy), a wide protected area where, despite sporadic reports of infection in humans and animals, eco-epidemiological data on these diseases are still not available. Rodents were trapped and released at the capture site after the collection of feeding ticks and blood samples. In all, 172 ticks were collected; the most frequent species was Ixodes acuminatus (53%). Out of 88 tick pools, 11 resulted positive for C. burnetii and 13 for B. burgdorferi s.l.; the Borrelia afzelii genospecies was identified in one Ixodes ricinus tick collected from one Apodemus sp. rodent. Out of 143 blood samples, seven Apodemus spp. and five Myodes glareolus were positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. and two Apodemus spp. were positive for C. burnetii. All samples (ticks and blood) were negative for F. tularensis and A. phagocytophilum. This is the first report of B. burgdorferi s.l. in the environment for Abruzzi Region. Data on the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. are similar to that observed in other Mediterranean countries. The present work is also the first report of C. burnetii in wild rodents in Italy. C. burnetii infection has been largely investigated in Italy in ruminant farms by serology and molecular methods, but information on ecology and on the wild cycle are still lacking. Further studies including genotyping should be performed and species-specific differences between wild rodent reservoirs of Q fever and Lyme disease agents should be investigated.
Asunto(s)
Grupo Borrelia Burgdorferi/aislamiento & purificación , Coxiella burnetii/aislamiento & purificación , Enfermedad de Lyme/epidemiología , Fiebre Q/epidemiología , Enfermedades por Picaduras de Garrapatas/epidemiología , Animales , Arvicolinae , Grupo Borrelia Burgdorferi/genética , Coxiella burnetii/genética , Reservorios de Enfermedades , Genotipo , Humanos , Italia/epidemiología , Ixodes/virología , Enfermedad de Lyme/microbiología , Murinae , Proyectos Piloto , Fiebre Q/microbiología , Infestaciones por Garrapatas/epidemiología , Infestaciones por Garrapatas/microbiología , Infestaciones por Garrapatas/veterinaria , Enfermedades por Picaduras de Garrapatas/microbiología , ZoonosisRESUMEN
AIMS: Hearing loss is a common disability that has a profound impact on communication and daily functioning in the elderly. The present study assesses the effects of hearing aids on mood, quality of life and caregiver burden when hearing loss, comorbidity and depressive symptoms coexist in the elderly. METHODS: A total of 15 patients aged older than 70 years suffering from hearing loss and depressive mood were recruited. Comorbidity was evaluated by the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, functional ability by the Activities of Daily Living scale and the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale, cognitive capacity by the Mini-mental State Examination and the Clock Drawing Test, psychological status by the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale, and quality of life by the Short Form (36) Health Survey. Caregiver burden was appraised by the Caregiver Burden Inventory. Testing was carried out at baseline and at 1-, 3- and 6-month intervals, assessing the use of binaural digital and programmable hearing aids. RESULTS: Reduction in depressive symptoms and improved quality of life at statistically significant levels were observed early on with the use of hearing aids. In particular, general health (P < 0.02), vitality (P < 0.03), social functioning (P < 0.05), emotional stability (P < 0.05) and mental health (P < 0.03) all changed for the better, and were maintained for the study duration. The degree of caregiver burden also declined, remaining low throughout the study. CONCLUSIONS: The benefits of digital hearing aids in relation to depressive symptoms, general health and social interactivity, but also in the caregiver - patient relationship, were clearly shown in the study. The elderly without cognitive decline and no substantial functional deficits should be encouraged to use hearing aids to improve their quality of life.