Elena Circella

Detection of the new emerging rabbit haemorrhagic disease type 2 virus (RHDV2) in Sicily from rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus).

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a member of the genus Lagovirus, causes rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), a fatal hepatitis of rabbits, not previously reported in hares. Recently, a new RHDV-related virus emerged, called RHDV2. This lagovirus can cause RHD in rabbits and disease and mortality in Lepus capensis (Cape hare). Here we describe a case of RHDV2 infection in another hare species, Lepus corsicanus, during a concurrent RHD outbreak in a group of wild rabbits. The same RHDV2 strain infected rabbits and a hare, also causing a RHD-like syndrome in the latter. Our findings confirmed the capability of RHDV2 to infect hosts other than rabbits and improve the knowledge about the epidemiology and the host range of this new lagovirus.

Coronavirus associated with an enteric syndrome on a quail farm

An enteric syndrome was observed in quail (Coturnix coturnix) semi-intensively reared for restocking in Apulia (southern Italy). The birds showed depression, severe diarrhoea, dehydration and reduced growth. Mortality occurred particularly in young birds. At necropsy the prominent lesion was enteritis. A coronavirus was detected by electron microscopy and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in the faeces and in the intestinal content of the dead quails. The virus could not be cultivated in chicken embryos. By sequence analyses of a fragment (409 nucleotides) of region 1b of the polymerase gene, the quail coronavirus displayed ≤93% nucleotide identity to avian coronaviruses (group 3 coronaviruses)—whereas by analysis of the S1 portion of the spike protein-encoding gene, the quail coronavirus displayed 16% to 18% amino acid identity with infectious bronchitis virus, and 79% to 81% identity with turkey coronavirus. Altogether, the findings suggest the existence of a novel coronavirus genetically related to turkey coronavirus.

Genomic Characterization of a Circovirus Associated with Fatal Hemorrhagic Enteritis in Dog, Italy

Dog circovirus (DogCV) was identified in an outbreak of enteritis in pups in Italy. The disease was observed in 6 young dachshunds pups of a litter from a breeding kennel and caused the death of 2 dogs. Upon full-genome analysis, the virus detected in one of the dead pups (strain Bari/411–13) was closely related to DogCVs that have been recently isolated in the USA. The present study, if corroborated by further reports, could represent a useful contribution to the knowledge of the pathogenic potential of DogCV and its association with enteritis in dogs.

Pseudoscabies caused by Dermanyssus gallinae in Italian city dwellers: a new setting for an old dermatitis.

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Astroviruses in rabbits.

A novel astrovirus was found more frequently in rabbits with enteric disease than in asymptomatic animals.

Chlamydia psittaci infection in canaries heavily infested by Dermanyssus gallinae

Dermanyssus gallinae is a haematophagous ectoparasite responsible for anemia, weight loss, dermatitis and a decrease in egg production. Dermanyssus gallinae may play a role in the modulation of the host immune system, maybe predisposing the host to some bacterial infections such as chlamydiosis. This is an important zoonosis. Humans are exposed to Chlamydia psittaci through inhalation of the agent dispersed from the infected birds. In this study, a syndrome observed in an aviary of canaries was investigated. A heavy infestation by D. gallinae was reported. Simultaneously, a C. psittaci infection was molecularly confirmed in the canaries. Combined therapy was applied successfully. The association of C. psittaci with the examined mites has been confirmed. Therefore, we think that D. gallinae have played a role in the spreading of C. psittaci infection among the canaries. Moreover, D. gallinae could have played an important role predisposing the canaries to the development of chlamydiosis, by inducing anemia and debilitation. The control of mites in the aviaries may represent a crucial step for the prevention of important infection such as chlamydiosis in birds and humans.

Experimental and field investigations on the role of birds as hosts of Leishmania infantum, with emphasis on the domestic chicken

In this study, 19 chickens were experimentally infected by Leishmania infantum and tissue samples, collected at different times, were cultured and subjected to conventional PCR and/or real time PCR (qPCR) to assess their susceptibility to infection. In addition, 121 serum samples from rural chickens (n=73) and backyard birds (n=48) were tested for anti-L. infantum antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence test. All the 19 animals showed to be molecularly positive at least at one tissue sample. In particular, 26 tissue samples from the experimentally infected chickens were positive on conventional PCR and/or qPCR but no clinical signs or seroconversion were detected and all tissue cultures were negative. Accordingly, all serum samples from rural chickens were negative whereas four (8.4%) from game birds (three Anser anser and one Phasianus colchicus) were positive. These results indicate that chickens are not suitable hosts for L. infantum under experimental condition. The occurrence of anti-L. infantum antibodies in domestic gooses (A. anser) and in a pheasant (P. colchicus) points out their possible role in the epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis.

Wild Birds As Biological Indicators Of Environmental Pollution: Biotyping And Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns Of Escherichia Coli Isolated From Audouin'S Gulls (Larus Audouinii) Living In The Bay Of Gallipoli (Italy)

Abstract E. coli biotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on 48 cloacal swabs collected from a population of Audouins gulls (Larus audouini) living in the Bay of Gallipoli (Lecce, Italy). The aim was to assess the pathogenic potential of the strains the gulls carry and shed into the environment and to gain a better understanding of the microbial pollution of the area they live in. Only one E. coli strain was rhamnose - (Rh) (biotype 8). All the other strains were Rh + with a prevalence of biotypes 30 and 31. Overall, the antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed a low level of antibiotic resistance. The findings suggest that the gull population does not have a heavy impact on the microbial nature of the Bay of Gallipoli and that the area does not present a high level of microbiological pollution .

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease–like Illness in Gouldian Finches (Chloebia gouldiae)

SUMMARY Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is a member of the genus Circovirus and causes psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) in Psittaciformes. PBFD is a severe disease generally characterized by immunodeficiency and beak and feather disorders. Although Circovirus spp. have been detected in several nonpsittacine species, little is known about the symptoms and the disease associated with this infection in birds other than Psittaciformes. In this study, we report the identification of Circovirus infection in a flock of Gouldian finches showing beak and feather disorders. Sequence analyses on the rep gene of the virus highlighted a strong similarity at nucleotide and amino acid levels with the corresponding regions of BFDV from psittacine species. By contrast, it was more distant to circoviruses identified in finch and canary. RESUMEN Reporte de Caso—Problema similar a la enfermedad del pico y las plumas (PBFD) de los psitácidos en diamantes de Gould (Chloebia gouldiae). El virus de la enfermedad del pico y de las plumas (BFDV) es un miembro del género Circovirus y causa la enfermedad del mismo nombre (con las siglas en inglés PBFD) en psitácidos. La enfermedad del pico y las plumas es una enfermedad grave caracterizada generalmente por inmunodeficiencia y trastornos del pico y las plumas. Aunque se han detectado Circovirus spp. en varias especies no psitácidas, poco se sabe acerca de los signos y enfermedad asociadas con esta infección en las aves distintas a las Psittaciformes. En este estudio, se presenta la identificación de la infección por circovirus en una parvada de pinzones de Gould que mostraron trastornos de pico y plumas. El análisis de la secuencia del gene rep del virus mostró una gran similitud a nivel de nucleótidos y de aminoácidos con las regiones correspondientes al virus de la enfermedad del pico y plumas de las especies de psitácidos. Por el contrario, este virus fue más distante al circovirus identificado en el pinzón y en el canario.

An urban outbreak of red mite dermatitis in Italy

The outbreak involved three adults (two women and one man) and a child living in two apartments in the same building in a city in southern Italy. At the end of March, the married couple (living in the second-floor apartment of the three-story building) noted small, light-colored and/or brownish crawling arthropods on the cordless phone in the bedroom. Because they experienced itching in and around the ear whenever they used the phone, they sprayed it with a commercial insecticide designed to kill ants. After several days, the itching returned. During early April, their 2-yearold daughter developed intensely pruritic skin lesions. The symptoms initially involved the posterior auricular and parietal regions of the head, as well as the neck and extremities, but rapidly generalized. The child slept in the same room as her parents, who noted similar eruptions, first involving the ankles and feet, and then the legs, arms, and trunk. The lesions were accompanied by intense, especially nocturnal, pruritus. Two weeks after the onset of the symptoms, the child was examined by her pediatrician who prescribed cortisone and antimicrobials. The treatment was ineffective. At the end of April, the family left home for a 1-week holiday, and the skin lesions healed almost completely. The pruritic dermatitis returned after one night at home, and actively motile arthropods were found on the bedroom furniture. De-infestation was performed. On May 8th, the mother collected a small brownish parasite from the child’s bed, and a second parasite was accidentally crushed against the pillowcase, producing a blood spot (Fig. 1). Alarmed by the presence of ‘‘blood-feeding insects,’’ the mother also collected parasites from the cordless phone, although they were clearly different in size and color, and took them to the Laboratory of Entomology of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZS), Foggia, Italy. On May 9th, the IZS staff found a pigeon’s nest under the gutter between the balconies of the two apartments. Diffuse skin lesions were visible on most of the child’s body (Fig. 2), and the parents showed a few lesions involving the extremities. The owner of the top-floor apartment, a 69-year-old woman, was also found to be afflicted with a generalized, pruritic dermatitis (Fig. 3). On several occasions, she found ‘‘tiny, light-colored, rapidly crawling insects’’ on the television and alarm clock in her bedroom. Her physician prescribed cortisone and tranquilizers. The mites collected from the nest and surrounding areas were identified as Dermanyssus 1119 Figure 1 Blood spot caused by a fed Dermanyssus gallinae (red poultry mite) crushed against the pillowcase