Eleven Years of Health Monitoring in Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

Abstract

In recent years, the growth of wild ungulates has increased the focus on their health monitoring. In particular, the health status of wild boars is relevant for the economic impact on the pig industry. The Emilia-Romagna region activated a wildlife monitoring plan to better evaluate the health status of the wild boar population. Between 2011 and 2021, samples of found dead and hunted wild boar have been examined for trichinellosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, african swine fever, classical swine fever, Aujeszky’s disease, swine vesicular disease, and swine influenza A. Trichinella britovi was identified in 0.001% of the examined wild boars; neither M. bovis nor M. tuberculosis were found in M. tuberculosis complex positive samples; 2.3% were positive for Brucella suis; 29.4% of the sera were positive for Aujeszky’s disease virus; and 0.9% of the samples were positive for swine influenza A virus. With an uncertain population estimate, the number of animals tested, the number of positives, and the sampling method do not allow us to make many inferences but suggest the need to implement and strengthen the existing surveillance activity, as it seems to be the only viable alternative for safeguarding animal and human health.

Detection and molecular analysis of Pseudorabies virus from free-ranging Italian wolves (Canis lupus italicus) in Italy - a case report

“…Serological analyses for the detection of PrV antibodies in wild boars in the province of Bologna in the period 2010-2021 showed a seroprevalence of 29.4% [ 21 ], very similar with the data from the Umbria Region, with seroprevalence of 33% (Epidemiological Surveillance of the Umbria region - unpublished data).…”

From wildlife to humans: The global distribution of Trichinella species and genotypes in wildlife and wildlife-associated human trichinellosis

“…scrofa ) Multiplex PCR 1/554 (0.18%) Piccinini et al (2023) Italy Emilia-Romagna Region Wild boar ( S . scrofa ) Multiplex PCR 2/208,241 (0.001%) Rossi et al (2023) Italy Southern Italy Wild boar ( S . scrofa ) Multiplex PCR 14/139,160 (0.01%) Sgroi et al (2023) Latvia Country-wide Red fox ( V .…”