235 research outputs found
Legislazione e programmi di controllo nella tubercolosi bovina
No full textNel contributo è individuata ed esaminata la legislazione nazionale e dell'UE sulla tubercolosi bovina. In aprticolare sono trattati gli aspetti legati a:le metodiche di diagnosi ufficiale di tbc, la definizione di animale infetto e sospetto d'infezione, i provvedimenti per gli animali sospetti ed infetti conseguenti alla denuncia di focolaio, le modalità e tempi per il ripopolamento dell'allevamento, la definizione di allevamento ufficialmente indenne da tbc, la sospensione e la revoca della qualifica di allevamento ufficialmente indenne da tbc, le disposizioni particolari, i laboratori ufficiali di riferimento, la sistuazione epidemiologica ed i territiori italiani indenni, l'indenniotà di abbattimento, le norme sulla movimentazione di animali tra paesi UE e per l'importazione da paesi terzi, gli aspetti di sicurezza alimentare
First Evidence of a New Porcine Parvovirus Species in Italy: A Survey of Reproductive Failure Outbreaks
No full textThe cytotoxic effect of slow Loris (nycticebus) venom, on human cancer cells
No full textWithin the Kingdom Mammalia, venom evolution is rare, occurring in only six orders. Arguably the most cryptic, and academically neglected venom occurs within primates among slow lorises (Nycticebus spp.). Venoms comprise novel biological compounds with a potential plethora of proteins and peptides available for utilisation in bio-medical research. We collected samples of slow loris saliva from eight captive-bred pygmy slow lorises (N. pygmaeus) at Paignton Zoo and Shaldon Wildlife Trust UK, given voluntarily as slow lorises chewed on Salimetrics children’s swabs. From January to March 2017, we employed MTT assays, and microscopy assessments to determine cell survival on human epidermal carcinoma cells (A431 line) after the application of concentrations of slow loris salivary venom. Cell survival from both male and female derived saliva was half that of untreated cells. Cytotoxic action is demonstrated in concentrations as low as 0.01% venom. Results demonstrate a cytotoxic effect with ensuing physiological damage on human cancer cells, demonstrating the cytotoxic action of slow loris saliva only, without the admixture of brachial gland exudate. We show that even captive-bred slow loris saliva harbours potentially dangerous substances, with functional applications towards slow loris husbandry. Knowledge of slow loris salivary venom increases understanding of the novel salivary composition and supports discussions of slow loris conservation by proposing a functional narrative to oppose the illegal pet trade, by contradicting their ‘cute and cuddly’ appeal. Evidence of salivary venom shows that cytotoxic effects can result even in the absence of a bite puncturing the skin, and further demonstrates their inappropriateness as pets
Feasibility of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in the Classification of Pig Lung Lesions
No full textRespiratory diseases significantly affect intensive pig farming, causing production losses and increased antimicrobial use. Accurate classification of lung lesions is crucial for effective diagnostics and disease management. The integration of non-destructive and rapid techniques would be beneficial to enhance overall efficiency in addressing these challenges. This study investigates the potential of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in classifying pig lung tissues. The NIR spectra (908–1676 nm) of 101 lungs from weaned pigs were analyzed using a portable instrument and subjected to multivariate analysis. Two distinct discriminant models were developed to differentiate normal (N), congested (C), and pathological (P) lung tissues, as well as catarrhal bronchopneumonia (CBP), fibrinous pleuropneumonia (FPP), and interstitial pneumonia (IP) patterns. Overall, the model tailored for discriminating among pathological lesions demonstrated superior classification performances. Major challenges arose in categorizing C lungs, which exhibited a misclassification rate of 30% with N and P tissues, and FPP samples, with 30% incorrectly recognized as CBP samples. Conversely, IP and CBP lungs were all identified with accuracy, precision, and sensitivity higher than 90%. In conclusion, this study provides a promising proof of concept for using NIR spectroscopy to recognize and categorize pig lungs with different pathological lesions, offering prospects for efficient diagnostic strategies
The role of transportation in the spread of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in fattening farms
No full textAbstract Background Direct and indirect contact among animals and holdings are important in the spread of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of slaughterhouse vehicles in spreading B. hyodysenteriae between unconnected farms. Results Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and Multiple Locus Variable number tandem repeat Analysis (MLVA) were used to characterize B. hyodysenteriae strains isolated from trucks. Before cleaning, 976 batches of finishing pigs transported by 174 trucks from 540 herds were sampled. After cleaning, 763 of the 976 batches were also sampled. Sixty-one of 976 and 4 of 763 environmental swabs collected from trucks before and after cleaning and disinfection operations, respectively, were positive for B. hyodysenteriae. The 65 isolates in this study originated from 48 farms. Trucks were classified into five categories based on the number of visited farms as follows: category 1: 1–5 farms, category 2: 6–10 farms, category 3: 11–15 farms, category 4: 16–20 farms, category 5: >21 farms. Although the largest number of vehicles examined belonged to category 1, the highest percentage of vehicles positive for B. hyodysenteriae was observed in categories 3, 4 and 5. Specifically, 90.9% of trucks belonging to category 5 were positive for B. hyodysenteriae, followed by categories 4 and 3 with 85.7% and 83.3%, respectively. The results of MLST and MLVA suggest that trucks transporting pigs from a high number of farms also play a critical role in spreading different B. hyodysenteriae genetic profiles. STVT 83–3, which seems to be the current dominant type in Italy, was identified in 56.25% of genotyped isolates. The genetic diversity of isolated strains from trucks was high, particularly, in truck categories 3, 4 and 5. This result confirmed that MLST and MLVA can support the study of epidemiological links between different B. hyodysenteriae farm strains. Conclusions This study highlights the potential role of shipments in B. hyodysenteriae spread. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of strict vehicle hygiene practices for biosecurity programmes
Evaluation of ‘ClassyFarm’, the Italian integrated surveillance system of livestock farms, in the context of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance
No full textClassyFarm is an integrated surveillance system for monitoring the Italian livestock farms on risks related to antimicrobial use (AMU) and resistance (AMR) and other indicators, such as animal welfare and farm biosecurity. In the framework of the CoEvalAMR network we evaluated ClassyFarm by using three evaluation tools: the OH-EpiCap, the FAO PMP-AMR and the NEOH evaluation tool. Evaluation was performed by interviewing representatives of ClassyFarm, National Health System veterinarians, farm vets, farmers, livestock industry entrepreneurs, academy experts in AMR/AMU. NEOH and PMP-AMR evaluation tools were applied twice (at 2 years interval) to detect changes in the implementation of the system over time, while OH-EpiCap was applied once. The three tools differ in evaluation objectives, depth of analysis, and time/training resources needed to perform the evaluation. However, each of them enables to gather different information, which can serve as a basis for the discussion of possible adaptations/improvements of ClassyFarm. Even though ClassyFarm has a limited degree of One Health (OH) implementation, the evaluation showed that the system has evolved from a barely biosecurity and welfare surveillance system towards a more integrated OH approach. A transdisciplinary nature is also emerging, with the involvement of the environmental sector. However, there is space for improvement in resource allocation, data sharing and communication. Beyond the structural evaluation, surveillance systems should be evaluated also in relation to cost-effectiveness and system impacts
EFFICACY OF AN IMMUNIZATION PROTOCOL BASED ON AN ATTENUATED SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM VACCINE BOOSTED WITH AN INACTIVATED SALMONELLA CHOLERAESUIS VACCINE IN PIGLETS EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH S.CHOLERAESUIS
No full textSalmonella Choleraesuis causes a systemic disease in pigs responsible of economic problems for farmers
(Ku et al. 2005). Salmonella Typhimurium is the second important serovar, diagnosed in pig farms and is
the principal responsible of salmonellosis in humans as a consequence of consumption of contaminated pork
products (EFSA Journal, 2010). Vaccination is a decisive tool to control disease in countries with high prevalence
of infection (Wales et al., 2011), unfortunately different serovars affect pigs and the cross-protection
of available vaccines is not completely disclosed (Foss et al., 2013). S.Typhimurium ÎTznuABC is an atten- ˇ
uated vaccine and recently we tested its safety and efficacy in mice and pigs experimentally infected with
virulent S.Typhimurium (Pesciaroli et al. 2011; Gradassi, et al. 2013). The aim of this study is to assess
the efficacy of this attenuated vaccine, in comparison to an inactivated S.Choleraesuis vaccine, in piglets
experimentally infected with S.Choleraesuis. Eighteen piglets were randomly divided in 3 groups. Group A
was orally vaccinated with S.Typhimurium ÎTznuABC and boosted with inactivated S.Choleraesuis vaccine, ˇ
group B was intramuscularly vaccinated with inactivated S.Choleraesuis vaccine and group C was unvaccinated.
All groups were challenged with 5x108 CFU of virulent S.Choleraesuis at day 35 after vaccination.
Animals were weighed at vaccination and before necropsy (day 47 from first vaccination). Tonsils, ileocecal
lymph nodes, spleen, liver, intestinal content of ileum, cecum, colon and jejunum were collected during
necropsy for microbiological analyses and gross lesions of organs were recorded. The results show that vaccination
does not influence the weight gain; furthermore, the synergic action of attenuated vaccine followed
by a boost with inactivated vaccine reduces fever, ileocecal lymph nodes and gut colonization caused by
virulent S.Choleraesuis infection. Antibody titers of vaccinated groups (A and B) were statistically different
from group C, indicating the capability of this new immunizing protocol in providing humoral response.
These findings show that this new immunizing approach is more effective than the homologous inactivated
vaccination protocol in controlling S.Choleraesuis infection
An exploratory study on the use of antibiotics in the pig chain as an issue for public health and food authenticity
No full textMeat companies have introduced antibiotic-free lines of pork as part of good animal husbandry practices for a responsible use of antimicrobial agents in livestock. Antibiotic free label claim is currently available on the market (Bradford et al, 2022) driven by the urgent need to reduce antimicrobial consumption - and thus antimicrobial resistance - and the growing customer demand. However, these claims lead to new challenges concerning authentication and traceability in the pigs’ chain.
A metabolomics approach was employed to highlight putative metabolic differences in pigs due to antimicrobial administration; also, the feasibility of metabolomics as a valuable tool to investigate antimicrobial treatment was evaluated. Liver metabolome of 41 pigs reared in Northern Italy during 2020 was characterized by 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Two groups of pigs, treatment (TX, n=19) and control (CTRL, n=22), were selected according to the Defined Daily Dose Animal for Italy for comparison. A biphasic extraction procedure was adopted to collect the two fractions of liver, polar and non-polar, differently analysed at the 600.17 MHz NMR.
A differentiation between TX and CTRL pigs’ groups was observed by performing Orthogonal Partial Least Squared-Discriminant Analysis on polar and non-polar fractions. The most discriminant variables (Variable Importance in Projection > 1) driving the separation between TX and CTRL groups were selected and the statistical significance on relevant features was checked to identify the discriminant molecules and their regulation between the two groups. In liver polar fraction, discriminant molecules up-accumulated (Fold Change Ratio) in TX pigs’ group were glucose, proline, tryptophan, glutathione, lactate, and choline. Higher levels of glucose and lactate in liver may suggest that the observed pigs were in a stressful condition requiring energy. In liver non-polar fraction, decreasing in fatty acids, cholesterol, and unsaturated fatty acids was observed in TX groups, probably due to the consumption of those substrates in case of body energy request.
The favourable results achieved so far suggest that the metabolomics approach might be seen as a promising tool for encouraging the intake of fewer drugs with antibacterial activity. Moreover, this technique might improve tracking and authentication systems along the chain of antibiotic-free pigs in confirming label claims and thwarting potential food fraud
Monitoring of the health status of slaughtered pigs by scoring of the pluck lesions
No full textThe evaluation of lung lesions at the slaughterhouse allows the monitoring of swine health and welfare and provides valuable data for epidemiological purposes [1]. The aims of this study were (i) to determine the prevalence of gross lesions at abattoir on the pluck of heavy weight pigs (~160 kg, 9 months of age) destined for PDO ham production and (ii) to investigate the correlation between the severity of lung and pleura lesions and carcass weight. The study was carried out in a slaughterhouse located in Northern Italy between December 2020 and March 2021. Enzootic Pneumonia-like lesions were assessed scoring each lung lobe from 0 to 4, with a maximum score of 28. Pleuritis lesions were evaluated using the Slaughterhouse Pleurisy Evaluation System (‘SPES’ score) with a maximum score of 4. Liver lesions were ranked from 0 to 2, relying on the number of milk-spot lesions. Other lesions such as pericarditis, lung scars and abscesses were also recorded. Data were collected from 73 batches coming from 63 farms, for a total of 7245 pigs. Descriptive statistics of the different lesions were performed at farm-level while the association between the mean value of lung and pleura scores with the mean value of the carcass weight was assessed using a linear regression at batch-level. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Overall, 60% of the lungs presented lesions with 98% of the EP-like lesions located in the cranio-ventral lobes. The average lung and pleurisy scores were 2.48±1.43 and 1.07±0.43, respectively, with 37% of the pleura presenting severe damage (score ≥3). The average liver score was 0.38±0.34, with 29% of the livers damaged. Pericarditis and lung scars values were 5% and 1%, respectively. The results of the mean values of the examined lesions were comparable to other previously reported in the literature [2]. No statistically significant correlation was found between the lung (R2 =0.007) and pleura (R2 =0.001) scores and the mean carcass weight at batch level. Such findings are in contrast with other studies reporting an effect of the respiratory lesions on the productive parameters [3]. These discrepancies may depend on the different scoring methods used in the studies, duration of the finishing stage and health management of the pigs. This study supports the evaluation of pluck lesions at the slaughterhouse for the monitoring of the health and welfare status in fattening pig farms
Approccio Innovativo per la rivelazione dell'uso di antibiotici nei suini
No full textIl presente studio introduce un approccio innovativo volto alla ricerca di nuovi strumenti di valutazione dell’autenticità e di tracciabilità della filiera suina relativamente ai claim riportati sull’etichetta della carne, es. “senza antibiotici”. In tale contesto il monitoraggio dei residui di antibiotici effettuato nell’ambito del Piano Nazionale Residui non è pertinente. Pertanto, a tale scopo un approccio metabolomico untargeted, basato sull’uso della spettroscopia NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), è stato impiegato per valutare differenze metaboliche e ricercare metaboliti correlati alla somministrazione di antibiotici in suini con l’obiettivo di identificare possibili biomarker. Il disegno sperimentale ha considerato 41 suini pesanti allevati in 4 diverse aziende situate nel Nord Italia e ripartiti in un gruppo di animali di controllo (22 capi) ed un gruppo di animali trattati (19 capi) in base alla DDDAitbiomass ricavata dalla piattaforma Classyfarm riferita all’anno 2020. In particolare, le DDDAitbiomass erano 16,3 and 37,4 giorni/animale/anno per i suini provenienti dall’azienda 1 e 2 (gruppo trattati) e 0,38 e 0,14 per quelli appartenenti alle aziende 3 e 4 (gruppo controllo). In fase di campionamento si è proceduto al prelievo del fegato in quanto organo metabolicamente coinvolto in numerosi processi biologici. Adottando un protocollo operativo a due fasi, 100 mg di fegato sono stati miscelati con una soluzione metanolo/cloroformio (2:1, v/v). Dopo sonicazione in un bagno ghiaccio-acqua, un egual volume di cloroformio ed acqua è stato aggiunto ai campioni che, a seguire, sono stati centrifugati per ottimizzare la separazione del sistema bifasico. Le due fasi, polare (superiore) e apolare (inferiore), sono state trasferite separatamente in due provette distinte ed evaporate con flusso di azoto. Gli estratti ottenuti sono stati risospesi con solventi deuterati: metanolo e cloroformio, per la frazione apolare, ed un tampone fosfato in acqua deuterata e standard interno (TSP) per quella polare. Gli spettri, acquisiti utilizzando uno spettrometro NMR operante a 600,17 MHz, sono stati corretti (per la fase e la linea di base) e calibrati. I dataset sono stati generati considerando i valori di
area integrata dei segnali presenti in un intervallo spettrale compreso tra 0-9 ppm. In particolare, sono stati ottenuti due dataset distinti, uno per la frazione polare ed uno per quella apolare, costituiti da 3444 e 3116 valori di area, rispettivamente. Entrambi i dataset sono stati sottoposti ad analisi statistica multivariata mediante Principal
Component Analysis (PCA), e Orthogonal Partial Least Squares- Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA). Entrambe le rielaborazioni statistiche hanno evidenziato una netta separazione tra i due gruppi di suini ascrivibile alle variazioni relative all’abbondanza di metaboliti. Tali evidenze suggeriscono differenze metaboliche tra il gruppo di suini trattato con antibiotici ed il gruppo controllo. In particolare, 17 e 11 segnali NMR appartenenti alla frazione polare e apolare, rispettivamente, hanno mostrato un effetto discriminante significativo tra i due gruppi e sono attualmente oggetto di identificazione ed interpretazione biologica. I risultati ottenuti in questa prima fase dello studio rappresentano un elevato potenziale per l’identificazione di biomarcatori di trattamenti antibiotici utili per l’autenticazione e la tracciabilità nella filiera suina ed aprono ampie prospettive di ricerca
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