Monica Caffara

First description of the adult stage of Clinostomum cutaneum Paperna, 1964 (Digenea: Clinostomidae) from grey herons Ardea cinerea L. and a redescription of the metacercaria from the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (L.) in Kenya

The combined use of morphological and molecular studies allowed for the first time the recognition and description of the adult stage of Clinostomum cutaneum Paperna, 1964 from the grey heron Ardea cinerea L. in Kenya. A redescription of the metacercaria that infect Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (L.) from the same aquatic environment is also presented. C. cutaneum differs from all other species of Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 in the shape of its uterus. Sequencing the rRNA confirmed the morphological similarity between adults from the grey heron and the metacercarial stage from tilapia, and a level of genetic similarity with the other previously sequenced Clinostomum spp. was observed. The need for a reorganisation of Clinostomum using both morphological and molecular methods is highlighted.

Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy outbreak in freshwater fish farmed in Italy

Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER), otherwise known as viral nervous necrosis (VNN), is a neuropathological condition affecting > 40 species of fish. Although VER affects mainly marine fish, the disease has also been detected in certain species reared in freshwater environments. There are relatively few reports concerning the disease in freshwater species, and there is not much information on clinical signs. Nevertheless, the most common clinical findings reported from affected freshwater species are consistent with the typical signs observed in marine species. In this paper we describe the main clinical signs and the laboratory results associated with the detection of a betanodavirus in hybrid striped bass x white bass (Morone saxatilis x Morone chrysops) and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, reared in a freshwater environment. We also detected the virus by real-time PCR and isolated it in cell culture from a batch of pike-perch Sander lucioperca farmed in the same system.

A Parasitological Survey of European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus Labrax) and Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus Aurata) Cultured in Italy

M.L. Fioravanti∗, M. Caffara, D. Florio, A. Gustinelli and F. Marcer Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bologna, Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy ∗Correspondence: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria e Patologia Animale – Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, via Tolara di Sopra, 50 – 40064, Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy E-mail: fioravanti@vet.unibo.it

Occurrence of actinosporean stages (Myxozoa) in the Nera River system (Umbria, central Italy)

We investigate the oligochaetes populations in the Nera River systems (central Italy) in order to highlight the occurrence of actinosporean stages in this natural environment. The survey was carried out during 2xa0years of monitoring 24 stations upstream and downstream the 12 trout farm along the rivers. In four of the 24 sites, oligochaetes releasing Echinactinomyxon and Aurantiactinomyxon types spore were collected. The actinospores observed were described morphologically, by transmission electron microscopy and by molecular analysis. Histological observations of the infected oligochaetes were carried out. A single morphotype of the collective group Echinactinomyxon were detected showing the presence of branches at the distal end of the caudal processes. The morphological and morphometrical characters showed that the Echinactinomyxon type herein described is a novel phenotype. This data has to be confirmed by the molecular comparison with sequences not yet available in GenBank. The molecular analysis of the Aurantiactinomyxon type, showed high genetic similarity (99.8%) with the two alternate stages of Chloromyxum truttae even if our type showed some differences in morphology stressing the importance of combining the two methods to avoid misidentifications. This is the first survey carried out in natural environment in Italy. Further analyses on fish population are required in order to detect myxosporean stage in the vertebrate hosts and confirm the molecular data.