What Do Adolescents Know About One-Health and Zoonotic Risks? A School-Based Survey in Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Mauritius, and Japan.

More than 60% of the 1,700 infectious diseases that affect human come from animals and zoonotic pandemics, after starting from sporadic phenomena limited to rural areas, have become a global emergency. The repeated and frequent zoonotic outbreaks such as the most recent COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed also to human activities. In particular, the creation of enormous intensive domestic animal farms, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, the destruction of forests, the consumption of the meat of wild animals and the illegal animal trade are all factors causing the insurgence and the transmission of zoonotic diseases from animals to humans. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge of the One Health concept including the zoonotic risk potentially derived from illegally traded pet animals and wildlife among adolescents in 6 different countries (Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Mauritius, and Japan). A representative sample of 656 students was recruited and all participants took an anonymous questionnaire. Data were analyzed by ANOVAs to estimate the prevalence of correct health prevention behaviors and to identify the influential factors for these behaviors. After two theoretical-practical lectures, the same anonymous questionnaire was administered for the second time in order to assess the efficacy of the program. The proportion of students who did not know that many diseases affecting humans come from animals is 28.96% while 32.16% of them did not know what a zoonosis is. The circularity of the One Health concept related to the transmission of diseases from animals to humans and vice-versa is not understood from a large prevalence of the adolescents with 31.40 and 59.91% of wrong responses, respectively. Furthermore, rabies is not considered as a dangerous disease by 23.02% of the adolescents. After two theoretical-practical classroom sessions, the correct answers improved to 21.92% according to the different question. More than a third of the student cohort investigated showed a profound ignorance of the zoonotic risks and a poor understanding of the One Health concept. The authors believe that the teaching of health prevention with a One Health approach and a practical training should be included in every school curriculum.

The "Bio-Crime Model" of Cross-Border Cooperation Among Veterinary Public Health, Justice, Law Enforcements, and Customs to Tackle the Illegal Animal Trade/Bio-Terrorism and to Prevent the Spread of Zoonotic Diseases Among Human Population.

Illegal animal trade (pet, wildlife, animal products, etc.) is an example of transnational organized crime (T.O.C.) that generates a large business with huge profit margins. This criminal activity causes several negative effects on human health (zoonoses), animal health and welfare, market protection, consumer fraud and may be used as tool of agro/bio-terrorism. Illegal animal trade can facilitate the spread of zoonoses that are defined as diseases and infections that are transmitted by vertebrate animals to man. Humans are affected by more than 1,700 known pathogens: 60% of existing human infectious diseases are zoonotic and at least 75% of emerging infectious diseases of humans have an animal origin and 72% of zoonoses originate from wildlife or exotic animals. The Bio-Crime Project was developed in 2017 by Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (Italy) and Land Carinthia (Austria) together with other public institutions to combat illegal animal trade and to reduce the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans. Project partners agreed that a multi-agency approach was required to tackle the illegal animal trade that was high value, easy to undertake and transnational crime. The Bio-crime model of cross-border cooperation introduces the novel approach of replicating the cooperative framework given by the triad of Veterinary Public Health, Justice and Law Enforcements/Customs across borders using the International Police and Custom Cooperation Centres (IPCCCs) as a connection link among public entities of the neighbor countries. This model has been recognized as a best practice at European level because it can be easily replicated and scaled up without any supplementary cost for Member States.

Achievements of an eradication programme against caprine arthritis encephalitis virus in South Tyrol, Italy.

Small ruminant lentivirus infections in goats affect both production and animal welfare. This represents a threat to the qualitative and quantitative growth of goat farming, recently observed in mountainous regions such as the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol (Italy). To monitor and eradicate the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus in this goat population, a compulsory eradication campaign was launched, based on a strict census of small ruminants and yearly serological testing of all animals, followed by the consequent culling of seropositive individuals. The campaign succeeded in completely eliminating cases of clinical disease in goats, while drastically reducing the seroprevalence at the herd as well as individual animal level. The serological outcome of the introduced control measures was determined using commercially available ELISA kits, demonstrating their suitability for use in this type of campaign, aimed at reducing seroprevalence as well as clinical manifestations of these infections. However, this clear success is diminished by the failure to achieve a complete eradication of these viruses. The reasons leading to the observed tailing phenomenon and the occurrence of new infections in already sanitised flocks are discussed and implementation of further measures are proposed.

[Retrospective evaluation of data over five years of the BVDV prevention program using ear notch samples from the autonomous province of Bolzano (Italy)]. / Retrospektive Auswertung von Daten über fünf Jahre BVDV-bekämpfungsprogramm mittels Ohrgewebeproben in der Autonomen Provinz Bozen (Italien).

In 2005 the Autonomous Province of Bolzano implemented a BVD-Virus control programme by testing all newborn calves for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) antigen by analysing ear notch samples. In eradication programs between November 2005 and October 2010 a total of 344,108 newborn calves were ear notch sampled and analysed for BVDV by an antigen ELISA detecting the E(rns) (HerdCheck BVDV Antigen/Serum Plus, Idexx Laboratories, Switzerland). The tissue samples were collected during calf ear tagging (within the first 20 days of life) using two sampling devices (TypiFix-System, Agrobiogen GmbH [Germany] and Allflex [France]). 0.4% (1400) of the collected samples showed a positive result, and of these, 583 calves were subjected to a follow-up examination, analysing the samples again by ELISA as well blood samples by Reverse transcriptase-PCR. Blood samples were also collected from the dam, if still present on the farm by the time of sampling. These results suggest that a BVDV control programme testing all newborn calves sampled for BVDV antigen by analysing an ear notch sample in principle is practicable. However, due to the low positive predictive value (75%) of the E(rns)-ELISA used, not all persistently infected calves can be detected.