First Report of a Severe Outbreak of Aujeszky’s Disease in Cattle in Sicily (Italy)

Ciarello, Flavia Pruiti; Capucchio, Maria Teresa; Ippolito, Dorotea; Colombino, Elena; Gibelli, Lucia; Fiasconaro, M.; Martin, Ana Moreno; Presti, Vincenzo Di Marco Lo

doi:10.3390/pathogens9110954

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…AD also occurs in the wild boar population. No cases of clinical AD have been officially reported in cattle during the last 10 years (2011–2020), however sporadic cases, in particular in areas where pigs and cattle are grazing together, were recently reported ( 36 ).…”

Section: Cattle Diseases Without a Control Program In Italymentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of Control Programs for Twenty-Four Infectious Cattle Diseases in Italy

et al. 2021

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The cattle industry is a major driving force for the Italian agricultural sector totalling about 5. 6 million heads for dairy and meat production together. It is particularly developed in the northern part of the country, where 70% of the whole Italian cattle population is reared. The cattle industry development in the rest of the country is hampered by the hard orography of the territories and a variety of socioeconomic features leading to the persistence of the traditional rural farming systems. The differences in the farming systems (industrial vs. traditional) also affect the health status of the farms. Whereas, Enzootic Bovine Leukosis (EBL) is almost eradicated across the whole country, in Southern Italy where Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis are still present and Bluetongue is endemic due to the presence of the competent vector (Culicoides imicola), less investments are aimed at controlling diseases with economic impact or at improving farm biosecurity. On the other hand, with the eradication of these diseases in most part of the country, the need has emerged for reducing the economic burden of non-regulated endemic disease and control programs (CPs) for specific diseases have been implemented at regional level, based on the needs of each territory (for instance common grazing or trading with neighboring countries). This explains the coexistence of different types of programs in force throughout the country. Nowadays in Italy, among cattle diseases with little or no EU regulations only three are regulated by a national CP: Enzootic Bovine Leukosis, Bluetongue and Paratuberculosis, while Bovine Genital Campylobacteriosis and Trichomonosis are nationwide controlled only in breeding bulls. For some of the remaining diseases (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, Bovine Viral Diarrhea, Streptococcus agalactiae) specific CPs have been implemented by the regional Authorities, but for most of them a CP does not exist at all. However, there is a growing awareness among farmers and public health authorities that animal diseases have a major impact not only on the farm profitability but also on animal welfare and on the use of antibiotics in livestock. It is probable that in the near future other CPs will be implemented.

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Section: Cattle Diseases Without a Control Program In Italymentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of Control Programs for Twenty-Four Infectious Cattle Diseases in Italy

et al. 2021

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“…In Sicily is reared the 0.83% of the Italian pig population (8.900.328 animals—data updated as of 30/06/21—BDN Anagafe Nazionale Zootecnica) and 47.9% of Sicilian pigs are raised in free-range systems. More than half of free-roaming pigs (58%) are bred in the province of Messina, where the two cases described in this study are contextualized and where AD prevalence in farmed pigs is higher than in other Sicilian provinces [ 14 ]. Over the years, this type of management has favoured the uncontrolled increase of the wild swine population (wild boars, feral pigs, half-breed of pigs and wild boars), which is not included in the specific AD surveillance and control activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, diagnostic confirmation is obtained post-mortem by directly identifying the virus within the nervous system by viral isolation and molecular techniques (PCR and Real-Time PCR). The present study reports the first clinical AD cases in two dogs used for wild boar hunting in the province of Messina (Sicily), in an area close to the Nebrodi Natural Park, where AD cases have been reported in cattle [ 14 ]. These cases, even if sporadic, indicates that AD is present in the wild-swine population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aujeszky’s disease in hunting dogs after the ingestion of wild boar raw meat in Sicily (Italy): clinical, diagnostic and phylogenetic features

et al. 2022

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Background Aujeszky's disease is caused by Suid Herpes Virus-1 and species belonging to the genus Sus scrofa are the main reservoir hosts. This virus, however, is capable of infecting and causing severe disease, with an almost constant fatal outcome in other species, both domestic and wild (carnivores, monogastric herbivores and ruminants). Moreover, the possibility of transmission to humans has been demonstrated. This study reports and describes the clinical, diagnostic, pathological and phylogenetic aspects of two cases of Aujeszky's disease in two hunting dogs following the ingestion of infected wild boar raw meat. These cases are contextualized in the province of Messina (Sicily), where a high prevalence of Aujeszky's disease has been recorded (average of 12,20% in the period 2010–2019) in farmed pig, and with evidence of spread to other species. A severe outbreak in cattle has recently been reported in these areas. Nevertheless, cases of Aujeszky's disease in dogs are rarely reported and this study represents the first well-documented report in this species in Sicily. Case presentation After a wild boar hunt, two dogs showed neurological symptoms and intense itching unresponsive to therapy. Diagnosis of Aujeszky's disease was made based on clinical suspicion, anamnestic information and confirmed by the isolation of the virus from the brain of both dogs. In addition, molecular typing, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the Real-Time PCR products were performed. The sequences studied were placed in the Italian Clade 1 along with the sequences obtained from wild boars and hunting dogs from Italy and France. Conclusions The finding of this disease in non-natural hosts in Sicilian multi-host epidemiological contexts suggests that the risk of inter-species transmission is concrete and that attention should be paid to developing disease control programs in these territories. The data obtained from genome sequencing of the two SuHV-1 isolates contribute to the enrichment of the GenBank with unknown sequences and the phylogenetic analysis implementation.

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“…Pig is the natural host and reservoir for PRV, while this pathogen can also infect various mammals, such as ruminants ( 4 , 5 ), carnivores ( 6 ), bears ( 7 ), etc. Recently, a PRV strain has been isolated from an acute human encephalitis case, suggesting that humans may be potential PRV hosts ( 8 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological Investigation and Genetic Characteristics of Pseudorabies Virus in Hunan Province of China From 2016 to 2020

et al. 2021

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Pseudorabies (PR), caused by variant pseudorabies virus (PRV), is an economically important viral disease in China. Recently, PRV infection in humans has also received attention worldwide. To investigate the PRV infection in Hunan province, China, we collected a total of 18,138 serum specimens from 808 PRV-vaccinated pig farms cross this region during 2016–2020, and we detected the presence of PRV glycoprotein B (gB) and gE-specific antibodies. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results revealed that 80.47% (14,596/18,138, 95 CI 79.9–81.0) and 23.55% (4,271/18,138, 95 CI 22.9–24.2) of serum samples were positive for PRV gB and gE-specific antibodies, respectively. Further analysis indicated that the seroprevalence of wild PRV infection was associated with the season and breeding scale (p < 0.01). In addition, five PRV strains were isolated from PRV-positive samples in Vero cells and the virus titers varied from 106.5 to 107.51 TCID50/0.1 ml. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that one isolate was a classical strain of PRV genotype II, and four other isolates belonged to the variants of genotype II. Collectively, the data indicate that the prevalence of PRV remains high in pigs in Hunan province, and the variant PRV strains are the major genotypes affecting the development of the pig industry.

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First Report of a Severe Outbreak of Aujeszky’s Disease in Cattle in Sicily (Italy)

Cited by 11 publications

References 34 publications

Overview of Control Programs for Twenty-Four Infectious Cattle Diseases in Italy

Overview of Control Programs for Twenty-Four Infectious Cattle Diseases in Italy

Aujeszky’s disease in hunting dogs after the ingestion of wild boar raw meat in Sicily (Italy): clinical, diagnostic and phylogenetic features

Serological Investigation and Genetic Characteristics of Pseudorabies Virus in Hunan Province of China From 2016 to 2020

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