Paratuberculosis, Animal Welfare and Biosecurity: A Survey in 33 Northern Italy Dairy Goat Farms.

Paratuberculosis is a notable infectious disease of ruminants. Goats appear to be particularly susceptible. The survey aimed to investigate the spread of paratuberculosis in Italian goat farming and evaluate whether the presence of the disease could be influenced by welfare and biosecurity deficiencies. A serological survey for paratuberculosis in 33 dairy farms in northern Italy was conducted. Contextually, animal welfare and biosecurity were assessed, using a standardized protocol of 36 welfare indicators and 15 biosecurity indicators which assigns to each farm a welfare and biosecurity score from 0 (any application) to 100% (full application). An overall result of less than 60% was considered insufficient. Nineteen farms (58%) tested positive for paratuberculosis, with a mean intra-herd seroprevalence of 7.4%. Total welfare ranged from 39.56 to 90.7% (mean 68.64%). Biosecurity scores ranged from 10.04 to 90.01% (mean 57.57%). Eight farms (24%) showed poor welfare conditions (welfare score < 60%) and 19 (58%) an unsatisfactory biosecurity condition (biosecurity score < 60%). With respect to the explorative character of the study, an indicative association between seven welfare and biosecurity indicators and paratuberculosis seropositivity was identified. The presence of paratuberculosis in northern Italy dairy goat farms was confirmed. The welfare and biosecurity assessment protocol proved to be an accurate tool, capable of identifying critical points for managing health, welfare and productivity.

Effect of welfare standards and biosecurity practices on antimicrobial use in beef cattle.

Antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock species and the associated antimicrobial resistance are a global concern, thus strategies for their reduction and a more judicious use are needed. Previous research has revealed a link between improved animal welfare, biosecurity and AMU reduction in pig and dairy sectors, however, little is known about the beef sector. This study aimed to investigate the impact of welfare standards and biosecurity on AMU in beef cattle. Data on performance traits and AMU were collected over a 3.5 year time from 27 specialised beef farms and a treatment incidence was calculated using the defined daily dose for animals. An on-farm assessment was carried out by assigning a score from 0 (very poor) to 100% (very good) to 3 sections: welfare, biosecurity and emergency management. The highest average score was obtained for the welfare section (76%) followed by emergency management (39%) and biosecurity (24%). This suggests that major focus on strategies for the implementation of biosecurity measures and emergency management is needed, due to the low scores reported. A statistically significant lower AMU was observed with improved level of welfare. These results may be helpful for farm benchmarking and highlight the importance of improved animal welfare for an efficient antimicrobial stewardship.

Use of antimicrobials in beef cattle: an observational study in the north of Italy.

Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide issue whereby a more prudent use of medications is needed, especially for those antimicrobials (AM) classified as 'highest priority critically important antimicrobials' (HPCIAs) which are likely contributors to the development of resistance. So far, data on antimicrobial use (AMU) in EU are mainly reported at sales level while information on real use, mostly in beef production, is poor. The most reliable indicator to measure AMU is the treatment incidence (TI100) calculated by using the Defined Daily Dose Animal (DDDA) as stated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Although Italy ranks second among EU countries with regard to the AM sales in livestock production, data on AMU of the Italian beef production is still lacking, whereby the aim of this study was to provide information on the current scenario of AMU in Italian beef cattle. Data were collected from January 2016 to April 2019 from specialized beef fattening farms located in the north of Italy yielding a final dataset of 1376 batches. Data on performance and AM agents used in the study were collected and TI100 indexes per batch were calculated according to both Italian and EMA's DDDA. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to check for differences between years and seasons. Results showed a significant variation between years and seasons with a reduction of TI100 based on Italian DDDA as time progressed (P < 0.05). However, about 40% of the total amount of treatments administered were HPCIAs with macrolides accounting for the 27.7% of the total amount. The most common reasons of administration of AM were respiratory diseases (68.9%) and lameness (17.6%). Penicillins was the class of AM used on the highest proportion of batches (84.4%) showing that broad-spectrum AM were widely exploited among herds. In summary, despite a general reduction of AMU in beef cattle over time, a great use of HPCIAs was still observed suggesting that AM stewardship for Italian beef production should pay particular emphasis on the reduction of HPCIAs use. This shows how overall knowledge on where efforts need to be optimized is important to develop targeted strategies for a more responsible AM stewardship. Results of the current study may also contribute to define national and EU benchmark criteria for AMU, as a comparison with studies carried out in other countries or on other food-producing sectors is still challenging to achieve.

Bartonella infection in asymptomatic horses and donkeys from Tuscany, Central Italy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of Bartonella sp. infection in asymptomatic horses and donkeys living in Tuscany, Central Italy. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 77 horses and 15 donkeys and tested by indirect immunofluorescent test to detect antibodies against Bartonella sp. and by PCR to detect the pathogen. RESULTS: Fifty-four (58.69%; 95% CI: 47.95%-68.87%) animals, 9 donkeys and 45 horses, were seropositive with antibody titers ranging from 1:64 to 1:512. PCR assays detected 9 horses positive for Bartonella sp. and 3 donkeys for Bartonella henselae genotype I. CONCLUSIONS: The detected sero-prevalence suggests a common and frequent exposure of equids living in Central Italy to bartonellae and PCR results show that Bartonella sp. infection is possible both in horses and donkeys. At the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Bartonella henselae infection in donkeys.