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Sixteen specimens of female crucian carp, Carassius carassius (L.), during the breeding season, were investigated for post-mortem and full diagnostic examination during a mortality outbreak in a tributary stream of the Arno River in Tuscany in 2011. Necropsy highlighted the presence of a swollen anus and widespread haemorrhages in the body, fins, gills and eyes. Haemorrhages in internal organs and spleen granulomas were also observed. Bacteria isolated from the brain, kidney and spleen of affected fish were identified as A. sobria. Microscopic lesions observed in gills were characterized by necrosis of the secondary lamellae, congestion and multifocal lamellar fusion. The kidney showed necrosis, oedema, fibrin exudation and areas of haemorrhages, while in the spleen the main lesions were by multifocal necrosis of the lymphoid tissue. In the gills, transmission electron microscopy revealed herpesvirus-like particles, subsequently identified as Cyprinid herpesvirus-2 (CyHV-2) with a nested PCR protocol. Although it was not possible to attribute a pathogenic role to CyHV-2 in this mortality event, the identification of this herpesvirus in crucian carp increases the concern about its potential role in this species.

An unusual mortality event involving cetaceans, mainly striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833), occurred along the Tyrrhenian Sea coast of Italy during the first 3 mo of 2013. Based on post-mortem analyses carried out according to body condition on 66 dolphins (54% of stranded animals), several hypotheses to explain the causes of this mortality event were proposed. Although no definitive conclusions can be drawn, dolphin morbillivirus was deemed the most likely cause, although other infectious agents (including Photobacterium damselae damselae and herpesvirus) or environmental factors may also have contributed to this recent mortality event.

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Papillomavirus (PV) infection is associated with development of epithelial cancer in different species, including domestic cat (Felis catus). Felis catus PV type-2 (FcaPV-2) is considered the causative agent of a proportion of feline cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), through the transforming properties of its E6 and E7 oncogenes. However, the possible role of FcaPVs in the aetiology of feline oral SCC (FOSCC) is still unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the presence and gene expression of FcaPV-2 in FOSCC samples. We detected FcaPV-2 DNA in 10/32 (31%) of the analysed FOSCC by the use of PCR methods. Importantly, viral mRNA was detected by RT-PCR in 7/10 (70%) of DNA positive samples. In particular, FcaPV-2 L1, E2 and E6E7 genes were found to be expressed in 5/10 (50%), 3/10 (33%) and 5/10 (50%) samples, respectively. Viral DNA was also detected in non neoplastic oral ulcerative lesions (ULs) (4/11, 36%); qPCR suggested a difference in viral load between ULs and FOSCCs, particularly in those expressing E6E7, although it was not statistically significant. These data suggest, but do not definively prove, a possible role of FcaPV-2 in the development of a proportion of FOSCC. Moreover, L1 and E2 gene expression results indicate that FcaPV-2 infection associated with these tumours may possibly be productive.

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A free-living, striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba calf was stranded on the Latium coast of Italy in November 2009. Significant neuropathological findings included non-suppurative meningoencephalitis, microgliosis, neuronal degeneration, astrocytosis, and occasional multinucleate syncytia. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Morbillivirus were positive exclusively from the brain, with morbilliviral antigen and nucleic acid being detected in neurons and, to a lesser extent, in astrocytes. A low neutralizing antibody titer (1:10) against Morbillivirus (Canine distemper virus, CDV) was also found in blood serum, with no simultaneous presence of serum antibodies to Brucella spp. or Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, no pathogenic bacteria were isolated from any tissue or biological sample. This is the second report of morbilliviral encephalitis in a striped dolphin stranded along the Italian coastline in a 16 yr period (1993 to 2009). The neurohistopathological, IHC, and biomolecular features of this case are of additional interest, as antigenic and genomic positivity were exclusively confined to the brain of this dolphin, which may have acquired morbilliviral infection either postnatally or transplacentally. KEY WORDS: Encephalitis · Dolphin morbillivirus · Striped dolphin · Italy · Mediterranean SeaResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher die-off that took place 15 yr before in the same area (Fernández et al. 2008, Raga et al. 2008, Van Bressem et al. 2009). Direct evidence of Morbillivirus infection has been recently reported in several striped dolphins, as well as in a pilot whale and a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus found stranded on the French Mediterranean coast (Keck et al. 2010). MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study reports the morpho-histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and biomolecular features of a case of morbilliviral encephalitis in a striped dolphin calf from Italy. On November 15, 2009, a 112 cm, 16.8 kg, condition code 1 (Geraci & Lounsbury 2005) male striped dolphin calf was found dead, stranded on the Latium coast of Italy (Ostia Lido, 41°44' 15'' N, 12°16' 57'' W). The animal was promptly submitted to post mortem examination, which was carried out by means of a standard necropsy protocol (Geraci & Lounsbury 2005). Tissue samples collected included all major organs, adrenal glands, and lymph nodes (pulmonary, mediastinal, and mesenteric). Samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed routinely, cut into 5 µm thick sections, and subsequently stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E).Morbillivirus immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted on representative areas from the whole brain (telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, pons, cerebellum, medulla oblongata), lung, lymph nodes (pulmonary, mediastinal, and mesenteric), and spleen using a commercially available mouse monoclonal antibody against canine distemper virus (CDV) nucleoprotein (N) antigen (VMRD). This antibod...