Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has been detected sporadically in Italy since the 1990s. We report the phylogenetic relationship of swine enteric coronaviruses collected in Italy during 2007–2014 and identify a drastic shift in PEDV strain variability and a new swine enteric coronavirus generated by recombination of transmissible gastroenteritis virus and PEDV.

There was an epidemic of diarrhoea affecting pigs of all ages in Italy between May 2005 and June 2006. In 63 herds the cause was confirmed as porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus by electron microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, pcr and serology. Watery diarrhoea without mucus and blood was usually associated with a reduction of feed consumption. In farrowing-to-weaning herds, diarrhoea affected the sows and suckling piglets, and the mortality in newborn piglets was up to 34 per cent. In growers and fatteners the morbidity ranged from 20 to 80 per cent, but there was either no mortality or it was very low. Depending on the size of the herd and the type of operation, the clinical disease lasted for weeks or months.

No abstract

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is an important zoonotic gastrointestinal pathogen responsible for foodborne disease worldwide. It is a successful enteric pathogen because it has developed virulence strategies allowing it to survive in a highly inflamed intestinal environment exploiting inflammation to overcome colonization resistance provided by intestinal microbiota. In this study, we used piglets featuring an intact microbiota, which naturally develop gastroenteritis, as model for salmonellosis. We compared the effects on the intestinal microbiota induced by a wild type and an attenuated S. Typhimurium in order to evaluate whether the modifications are correlated with the virulence of the strain. This study showed that Salmonella alters microbiota in a virulence-dependent manner. We found that the wild type S. Typhimurium induced inflammation and a reduction of specific protecting microbiota species (SCFA-producing bacteria) normally involved in providing a barrier against pathogens. Both these effects could contribute to impair colonization resistance, increasing the host susceptibility to wild type S. Typhimurium colonization. In contrast, the attenuated S. Typhimurium, which is characterized by a reduced ability to colonize the intestine, and by a very mild inflammatory response, was unable to successfully sustain competition with the microbiota.

No abstract