One health surveillance strategy for coronaviruses in Italian wildlife.

The recent reinforcement of CoV surveillance in animals fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic provided increasing evidence that mammals other than bats might hide further diversity and play critical roles in human infectious diseases. This work describes the results of a two-year survey carried out in Italy with the double objective of uncovering CoV diversity associated with wildlife and of excluding the establishment of a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 in particularly susceptible or exposed species. The survey targeted hosts from five different orders and was harmonised across the country in terms of sample size, target tissues, and molecular test. Results showed the circulation of 8 CoV species in 13 hosts out of the 42 screened. Coronaviruses were either typical of the host species/genus or normally associated with their domestic counterpart. Two novel viruses likely belonging to a novel CoV genus were found in mustelids. All samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2, with minimum detectable prevalence ranging between 0.49% and 4.78% in the 13 species reaching our threshold sample size of 59 individuals. Considering that within-species transmission in white-tailed deer resulted in raising the prevalence from 5% to 81% within a few months, this result would exclude a sustained cycle after spillback in the tested species.

Transmission dynamics of lyssavirus in Myotis myotis: mechanistic modelling study based on longitudinal seroprevalence data.

We investigated the transmission dynamics of lyssavirus in Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii, using serological, virological, demographic and ecological data collected between 2015 and 2022 from two maternity colonies in northern Italian churches. Despite no lyssavirus detection in 556 bats sampled over 11 events by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), 36.3% of 837 bats sampled over 27 events showed neutralizing antibodies to European bat lyssavirus 1, with a significant increase in summers. By fitting sets of mechanistic models to seroprevalence data, we investigated factors that influenced lyssavirus transmission within and between years. Five models were selected as a group of final models: in one model, a proportion of exposed bats (median model estimate: 5.8%) became infectious and died while the other exposed bats recovered with immunity without becoming infectious; in the other four models, all exposed bats became infectious and recovered with immunity. The final models supported that the two colonies experienced seasonal outbreaks driven by: (i) immunity loss particularly during hibernation, (ii) density-dependent transmission, and (iii) a high transmission rate after synchronous birthing. These findings highlight the importance of understanding ecological factors, including colony size and synchronous birthing timing, and potential infection heterogeneities to enable more robust assessments of lyssavirus spillover risk.

Discovery of a coronavirus in the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) belonging to a putative new genus.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, coronaviruses gained renewed attention by the scientific community. The study reports the identification and genetic characterization of a novel coronavirus in the European badger (Meles meles) obtained in the framework of passive surveillance implemented in Italian wildlife in response to the pandemic. Positive samples were characterized using next generation sequencing as well as genetic and phylogenetic analyses, aiming for taxonomic placement under ICTV guidelines of the viruses contained in each sample. Results obtained for six conserved domains within the polyprotein showed that the virus clustered as outgroup and shared <46% amino acid identity with other coronaviruses, supporting the assumption that it belongs to a new putative genus Epsiloncoronavirus. This finding highlights that mammals still hide diverse coronaviruses whose zoonotic and epizootic potential remains unknown.

Bat responses to climate change: a systematic review.

Understanding how species respond to climate change is key to informing vulnerability assessments and designing effective conservation strategies, yet research efforts on wildlife responses to climate change fail to deliver a representative overview due to inherent biases. Bats are a species-rich, globally distributed group of organisms that are thought to be particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change because of their high surface-to-volume ratios and low reproductive rates. We systematically reviewed the literature on bat responses to climate change to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge, identify research gaps and biases and highlight future research needs. We found that studies are geographically biased towards Europe, North America and Australia, and temperate and Mediterranean biomes, thus missing a substantial proportion of bat diversity and thermal responses. Less than half of the published studies provide concrete evidence for bat responses to climate change. For over a third of studied bat species, response evidence is only based on predictive species distribution models. Consequently, the most frequently reported responses involve range shifts (57% of species) and changes in patterns of species diversity (26%). Bats showed a variety of responses, including both positive (e.g. range expansion and population increase) and negative responses (range contraction and population decrease), although responses to extreme events were always negative or neutral. Spatial responses varied in their outcome and across families, with almost all taxonomic groups featuring both range expansions and contractions, while demographic responses were strongly biased towards negative outcomes, particularly among Pteropodidae and Molossidae. The commonly used correlative modelling approaches can be applied to many species, but do not provide mechanistic insight into behavioural, physiological, phenological or genetic responses. There was a paucity of experimental studies (26%), and only a small proportion of the 396 bat species covered in the examined studies were studied using long-term and/or experimental approaches (11%), even though they are more informative about the effects of climate change. We emphasise the need for more empirical studies to unravel the multifaceted nature of bats' responses to climate change and the need for standardised study designs that will enable synthesis and meta-analysis of the literature. Finally, we stress the importance of overcoming geographic and taxonomic disparities through strengthening research capacity in the Global South to provide a more comprehensive view of terrestrial biodiversity responses to climate change.

Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPV-2 and FPV) Circulating in Wild Carnivores and in Puppies Illegally Imported into North-Eastern Italy.

The illegal trade of animals poses several health issues to the global community, among which are the underestimated risk for spillover infection and the potential for an epizootic in both wildlife and domestic naïve populations. We herein describe the genetic and antigenic characterization of viruses of the specie Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 detected at high prevalence in puppies illegally introduced in North Eastern Italy and compared them with those circulating in wild carnivores from the same area. We found evidence of a wide diversity of canine parvoviruses (CPV-2) belonging to different antigenic types in illegally imported pups. In wildlife, we found a high circulation of feline parvovirus (FPV) in golden jackals and badgers, whereas CPV-2 was observed in one wolf only. Although supporting a possible spillover event, the low representation of wolf samples in the present study prevented us from inferring the origin, prevalence and viral diversity of the viruses circulating in this species. Therefore, we suggest performing more thorough investigations before excluding endemic CPV-2 circulation in this species.

Identification of Dobrava-Belgrade Virus in Apodemus flavicollis from North-Eastern Italy during Enhanced Mortality.

Hantaviruses include several zoonotic pathogens that cause different syndromes in humans, with mortality rates ranging from 12 to 40%. Most commonly, humans get infected through the inhalation of aerosols or dust particles contaminated with virus-containing rodent excreta. Hantaviruses are specifically associated with the host species, and human cases depend on the presence and the dynamics of reservoir hosts. In this letter, we report the identification of Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) in the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) from Italy. The virus was detected in the mountainous area of the province of Udine, bordering Austria and Slovenia, during an event of enhanced mortality in wild mice and voles. Despite serological evidence in rodents and humans that suggested the circulation of hantaviruses in Italy since 2000, this is the first virological confirmation of the infection. Phylogenetic analyses across the whole genome of the two detected viruses confirmed the host-specificity of DOBV sub-species and showed the highest identity with viruses identified in Slovenia and Croatia from both A. flavicollis and humans, with no signs of reassortment. These findings highlight the need for ecologists, veterinarians and medical doctors to come together in a coordinated approach in full compliance with the One Health concept.

Gliptin-associated bullous pemphigoid shows peculiar features of anti-BP180 and -BP230 humoral response: Results of a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Recently, several case-control studies demonstrated an association between gliptins and bullous pemphigoid (BP) occurrence. However, data on the clinical and immunologic features of gliptin-associated bullous pemphigoid (GABP) are controversial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to clinically and immunologically characterize a large cohort of GABP patients to get an insight into the pathophysiology of this emerging drug-induced variant of BP. METHODS: Seventy-four GABP patients were prospectively enrolled and characterized from 9 different Italian dermatology units between 2013 and 2020. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated the following in the GABP patients: (1) a noninflammatory phenotype, which is characterized by low amounts of circulating and skin-infiltrating eosinophils, is frequently found; (2) immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgE, and IgA humoral responses to BP180 and BP230 antigens are reduced in frequency and titers compared with those in patients with idiopathic BP; (3) IgG reactivity targets multiple BP180 epitopes other than noncollagenous region 16A. LIMITATIONS: A limitation of the study is that the control group did not comprise only type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with BP. CONCLUSION: GABP patients show peculiar features of anti-BP180 and -BP230 humoral responses, laying the foundation for diagnostic improvements and getting novel insights into understanding the mechanism of BP onset.

Best Molecular Tools to Investigate Coronavirus Diversity in Mammals: A Comparison.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are widespread and highly diversified in wildlife and domestic mammals and can emerge as zoonotic or epizootic pathogens and consequently host shift from these reservoirs, highlighting the importance of veterinary surveillance. All genera can be found in mammals, with α and ß showing the highest frequency and diversification. The aims of this study were to review the literature for features of CoV surveillance in animals, to test widely used molecular protocols, and to identify the most effective one in terms of spectrum and sensitivity. We combined a literature review with analyses in silico and in vitro using viral strains and archive field samples. We found that most protocols defined as pan-coronavirus are strongly biased towards α- and ß-CoVs and show medium-low sensitivity. The best results were observed using our new protocol, showing LoD 100 PFU/mL for SARS-CoV-2, 50 TCID50/mL for CaCoV, 0.39 TCID50/mL for BoCoV, and 9 ± 1 log2 ×10-5 HA for IBV. The protocol successfully confirmed the positivity for a broad range of CoVs in 30/30 field samples. Our study points out that pan-CoV surveillance in mammals could be strongly improved in sensitivity and spectrum and propose the application of a new RT-PCR assay, which is able to detect CoVs from all four genera, with an optimal sensitivity for α-, ß-, and γ-.

Spillover of West Caucasian Bat Lyssavirus (WCBV) in a Domestic Cat and Westward Expansion in the Palearctic Region.

In June 2020, a cat from Arezzo (Italy) that died from a neurological disease was diagnosed with West Caucasian Bat Lyssavirus (WCBV). The virus retained high identity across the whole-genome with the reference isolate found in 2002 from a Russian bent-winged bat. We applied control measures recommended by national regulations, investigated a possible interface between cats and bats using visual inspections, bioacoustics analyses and camera trapping and performed active and passive surveillance in bats to trace the source of infection. People that were exposed to the cat received full post-exposure prophylaxis while animals underwent six months of quarantine. One year later, they are all healthy. In a tunnel located near the cat's house, we identified a group of bent-winged bats that showed virus-neutralizing antibodies to WCBV across four sampling occasions, but no virus in salivary swabs. Carcasses from other bat species were all negative. This description of WCBV in a non-flying mammal confirms that this virus can cause clinical rabies in the absence of preventive and therapeutic measures, and highlights the lack of international guidelines against divergent lyssaviruses. We detected bent-winged bats as the most probable source of infection, testifying the encroachment between these bats and pets/human in urban areas and confirming free-ranging cats as potential hazard for public health and conservation.

Artificial illumination near rivers may alter bat-insect trophic interactions.

Artificial illumination at night represents an increasingly concerning threat to ecosystems worldwide, altering persistence, behaviour, physiology and fitness of many organisms and their mutual interactions, in the long-term affecting ecosystem functioning. Bats are very sensitive to artificial light at night because they are obligate nocturnal and feed on insects which are often also responsive to lights. Here we tested the effects of LED lighting on prey-predator interactions at riverine ecosystems, using bats and their insect prey as models, and compared bat and insect reactions in terms of bat activity and prey insect abundance and diversity, respectively, on artificially lit vs. unlit nights. Artificial light influenced both insect and bat assemblages in taxon-specific directions: insect abundances increased at lit sites, particularly due to an increase in small dipterans near the light source. Composition of insect assemblages also differed significantly between lit and unlit sites. Total bat activity declined at lit sites, but this change was mainly due to the response of the most abundant species, Myotis daubentonii, while opportunistic species showed no reaction or even an opposite pattern (Pipistrellus kuhlii). We show that artificial lighting along rivers may affect trophic interactions between bats and insects, resulting in a profound alteration of community structure and dynamics.

Interpersonal functioning in borderline personality disorder: a systematic review of behavioral and laboratory-based assessments.

It is widely accepted that interpersonal problems are a central area of difficulty for those with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, empirical elucidation of the specific behaviors, or patterns of behaviors, characterizing interpersonal dysfunction or dissatisfaction with relationships in BPD is limited. In this paper, we review the literature on interpersonal functioning of individuals with BPD by focusing on studies that include some assessment of interpersonal functioning that is not solely self-report; that is, studies with either behavioral laboratory tasks or manipulation of interpersonal stimuli in a controlled laboratory setting were included. First, we review the literature relevant to social cognition, including perceptual biases, Theory of Mind/empathy, and social problem-solving. Second, we discuss research that assesses reactivity to interpersonal stressors and interpersonal aggression in BPD. Next, we review the literature on trust and cooperation among individuals with BPD and controls. Last, we discuss the behavior of mothers with BPD in interactions with their infants. In conclusion, we specify areas of difficulty that are consistently identified as characterizing the interpersonal behaviors of those with BPD and the relevant implications. We also discuss the difficulties in synthesizing this body of literature and suggest areas for future research.