Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis in wild boar (Sus scrofa) from southern Italy: an epidemiological and molecular survey.

Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis is a widespread parasitic disease of wild and domestic animals. In Europe, the increase in wild boar population may potentially contribute to the spread of this parasitic infection. To determine the occurrence of cysticerci (metacestodes) in wild boar population from southern Italy, carcasses were inspected during three hunting seasons (2016-2018). Out of 3363 wild boar examined, 229 (6.8%) harboured cysticerci with 188 (82.1%) infected by a single cyst, vs 41 (17.9%) boars having more than one. Most of the positive animals (187; 81.7%) showed cysts on the liver, whereas a multiple localization of cysticerci was reported in 10 (4.4%) wild boar. The total number of cysts retrieved from positive animals was 301 (average 1.3). Molecular analysis revealed the occurrence of a common haplotype (Hap 8) shared between wild boar and domestic animals. Our findings suggest the presence of a T. hydatigena semi-domestic life cycle in which wild boar may play an important role, due to a large number of offal available to hunting dogs, wolves and foxes during hunting seasons. Hunters may be players in the management of wildlife species to control and prevent the circulation of parasitic diseases.

Massive Taenia hydatigena Cysticercosis in a Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) from Italy.

PURPOSE: Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis, due to Cysticercus tenuicollis, is a parasitic disease infecting domestic and wild animals worldwide causing economic and productive losses. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to the role of the wild ungulates in the epidemiology of this disease. In the last years, the increasing population of wild boars in Europe has raised the attention of researchers on their role in the spreading of several infections, including those caused by cestodes. Herein, we report the description of a massive infection due to T. hydatigena cysticercosis in a wild boar from southern Italy. METHODS: An adult female boar was examined during the hunting season 2018 within the regional project "Piano Emergenza Cinghiali in Campania". A complete necropsy was performed on the boar carcass and all viscera were examined to determine number and location of the cysts. Morphological and molecular analyses of the cysts were performed to confirm the C. tenuicollis identity. RESULTS: The boar examined has revealed an impressive massive infection with 265 cysts. Measurements of the large and small larval hooks showed a mean of length as 200.3 µm and 136.8 µm, respectively. Molecular analysis of Cox1 and ND1 mitochondrial genes confirmed the C. tenuicollis identity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that wild boar could be involved in the epidemiology of T. hydatigena, due to the significant amount of boar raw offal available to definitive hosts (i.e., hunting dogs, foxes and wolves), during the hunting seasons.

Cystic echinococcosis in wild boars (Sus scrofa) from southern Italy: Epidemiological survey and molecular characterization.

Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is one of the most important parasitic zoonotic diseases in the world and it represents an important public health and socio-economic concern. In the Mediterranean basin, CE is widespread and it is endemic in Italy, with major prevalence in southern areas. Several studies have investigated CE in domestic pigs, however, such data in wild boars are scant. In the last decades the wild boar population in Italy has increased and this ungulate could play an important role in the spreading of CE in the wild. Here we report on the prevalence and fertility rate of hydatid cysts in wild boars that were shot during two hunting seasons (2016-2017) in the Campania region of southern Italy. For each animal, a detailed inspection of the carcass and organs (lungs, liver and spleen) was performed and when cysts were found, their number, morphology and fertility were determined by visual and microscopic examination. Cysts were classified morphologically as fertile, sterile, caseous and calcified. Protoscoleces and germinal layers were collected from individual cysts and DNA was extracted to identify different strains/genotypes of E. granulosus s.l. Out of a total of 2108 wild boars 93 (4.4%) were found positive for CE. Infected animals were 45 males and 48 females, aged between 1 and 8 years. The average number of cysts per wild boar was 1.3 (min 1 - max 13). The total number of cysts collected was 123, of which 118 (95.9%) in the liver, 4 (3.3%) in the lungs and 1 (0.8%) in the spleen. Of all analyzed cysts, 70 (56.9%) were fertile and 53 (43.1%) sterile/acephalous. The presence of fertile cysts in 19.4% of CE-positive animals is noteworthy. Overall, molecular diagnosis showed 19 wild boars infected with the pig strain (G7).

Polyostotic Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma in a Kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ).

We report a case of polyostotic chondroblastic osteosarcoma in a kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue Center (Naples, Italy). A consolidated fracture of the left tibiotarsus bone and a deviation of the limb were evident. After radiographic, cytologic, and histopathologic examinations, a diagnosis of polyostotic chondroblastic osteosarcoma was made. To our knowledge, this is the first report on polyostotic chondroblastic osteosarcoma in a kestrel.

Flavoridin inhibits Yersinia enterocolitica uptake into fibronectin-adherent HeLa cells.

In this study, three structurally distinct disintegrins (flavoridin, echistatin, kistrin) were used as molecular probes to further characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying Yersinia enterocolitica infection of host cells. The activity of the three disintegrins on Y. enterocolitica uptake into fibronectin-adherent HeLa cells was evaluated at disintegrin doses which were non-cytotoxic and unable to induce cell detachment. Flavoridin resulted to be the most effective in inhibiting bacterial entry into host cells; echistatin was almost 50% less effective than flavoridin, whereas kistrin was definitely inactive. Our results suggest that alpha(5)beta(1) integrin receptor, which binds flavoridin with higher affinity than the other two disintegrins, plays a major role in Y. enterocolitica uptake into HeLa cells. Furthermore, flavoridin binding to this integrin prevented the disruption of the functional complex FAK-Cas, which occurs in the Y. enterocolitica uptake process.

Characterization of H5N2 influenza viruses from Italian poultry.

From October 1997 to January 1998, highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza viruses caused eight outbreaks of avian influenza in northern Italy. A nonpathogenic H5N9 influenza virus was also isolated during the outbreaks as a result of virological and epidemiological surveillance to control the spread of avian influenza to neighbouring regions. Antigenic analysis showed that the Italian H5N2 isolates were antigenically similar to, although distinguishable from, A/HK/156/97, a human influenza H5N1 virus isolated in Hong Kong in 1997. Phylogenetic analysis of the haemagglutinin (HA) genes showed that the highly pathogenic Italian viruses clustered with the Hong Kong strains, whereas the nonpathogenic H5N9 virus, despite its epidemiological association with the highly pathogenic Italian isolates, was most closely related to the highly pathogenic A/Turkey/England/91 (H5N1) strain. Like the HA phylogenetic tree, the nonstructural (NS) phylogenetic tree showed that the H5N2 Italian virus genes are clearly separate from those of the H5N9 strain. In contrast, results of the phylogenetic analysis of nucleoprotein (NP) genes indicated a closer genetic relationship between the two Italian virus groups, a finding suggesting a common progenitor. Comparison of the HA, NS and NP genes of the Italian H5 strains with those of the H5N1 viruses simultaneously circulating in Hong Kong revealed that the two groups of viruses do not share a recent common ancestor. No virological and serological evidence of bird-to-human transmission of the Italian H5N2 influenza viruses was found.