148 research outputs found
Essential veterinary education in avian medicine: a global perspective
No full textAvian medicine is a relatively recent discipline in the veterinary curriculum, and is definitely not considered a topical issue. However, in the face of a growing demand for poultry meat worldwide, and in view of the health issues surrounding wild, exotic and pet birds, the relevance of avian medicine should be acknowledged and taken into account when revising curricula
Clinical and molecular evaluation of Italian patients affected by Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
No full textScreening for influenza a virus and paramyxovirus type 1 in wild birds admitted to a rehabilitation centre in the Veneto region (northern Italy): preliminary results
No full textVaccine Interaction and Protection against Virulent Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) Challenge after Combined Administration of Newcastle Disease and aMPV Live Vaccines to Day-Old Turkeys
No full textNewcastle disease virus (NDV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) are among the most impactful pathogens affecting the turkey industry. Since turkeys are routinely immunized against both diseases, the hatchery administration of the combined respective live vaccines would offer remarkable practical advantages. However, the compatibility of NDV and aMPV vaccines has not yet been experimentally demonstrated in this species. To address this issue, an aMPV subtype B live vaccine was administered to day-old poults either alone or in combination with one of two different ND vaccines. The birds were then challenged with a virulent aMPV subtype B strain, clinical signs were recorded and aMPV and NDV vaccine replication and humoral immune response were assessed. All results supported the absence of any interference hampering protection against aMPV, with no significant differences in terms of clinical scoring. In addition, the mean aMPV vaccine viral titers and antibody titers measured in the dual vaccinated groups were comparable or even higher than in the group vaccinated solely against aMPV. Lastly, based on the NDV viral and antibody titers, the combined aMPV and NDV vaccination does not seem to interfere with protection against NDV, although further studies involving an actual ND challenge will be necessary to fully demonstrate this hypothesis
Gaudio E., Tarricone L., Terregino C., Piccirillo. A."Screening for Avian Influenza and Paramyxovirus Type 1 in wild birds admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Veneto Region (Northern Italy): preliminary results", Proceedings of the International Conference on Diseases of Zoo and Wild Animal 2015, page 119, Barcelona, Spain (13/05/2015-16/05/2015).
No full textFirst detection of avian metapneumovirus subtype C Eurasian lineage in a Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) wintering in Northeastern Italy: an additional hint on the role of migrating birds in the viral epidemiology
No full textAvian metapneumovirus (aMPV) economically affects the global poultry industry causing respiratory and reproductive disorders. Considering the paucity of data on aMPV occurrence in European free-ranging avifauna, a molecular survey was conducted on wild birds of 23 species belonging to the orders Anseriformes, Charadriiformes or Passeriformes, captured alive and sampled in Northeast Italy as part of the national avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance activities. A total of 492 oropharyngeal swabs, collected from 2007–2010, all AIV-negative, were screened from aMPV by subtype-specific qRT-PCR. An aMPV-C strain, named aMPV/C/IT/Wigeon/758/07, was found in a wintering young Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) sampled in November 2007. The matrix, fusion, and attachment glycoprotein genes of the detected strain were subsequently amplified by specific independent RT-PCRs, then sequenced, and compared in a phylogenetic framework with known aMPV homologous sequences retrieved from GenBank. Close genetic relationships were found between the aMPV/C/IT/Wigeon/758/07 strain and subtype C Eurasian lineage strains isolated in the late 1990s in French domestic ducks, suggesting epidemiological links. Eurasian wigeons are medium/long-range migrant dabbling ducks that move along the Black Sea/Mediterranean flyway; our finding might, therefore, be related to migratory bridges between countries. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular evidence of the occurrence of aMPV subtype C in Italy and backdates the aMPV-C circulation to 2007. Moreover, the results suggest the susceptibility of Eurasian wigeons to aMPV. Broader investigations are needed to assess the role of wild ducks and the significance of the wildfowl/poultry interface in aMPV-C epidemiology. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Wild birds live-captured in Italy were tested for aMPV detection and characterization. aMPV-C Eurasian lineage was found for the first time in a wintering Eurasian wigeon. Migratory birds could be involved in the aMPV epidemiology
Infectious bronchitis virus detection and characterization depend on assay choice and viral concentration in coinfected samples
No full textEpisodio di necrosi ematopoietica da cyprinid herpesvirus-2 in pesci rossi, Carassius auratus (L.), di importazione.
No full textLa necrosi ematopoietica sostenuta da Cyprinid Herpesvirus-2 (CyHV-2) è una patologia del pesce
rosso, Carassius auratus, descritta per la prima volta nel 1992 in Giappone e segnalata in USA,
Taiwan, Australia e Regno Unito.
Nell’inverno 2010-11 presso un centro di stabulazione di pesci ornamentali in Veneto, si sono
verificati gravi episodi di mortalità in due partite di pesci rossi, C. auratus varietà pearlscale, importati
da Singapore. Entambi i lotti, di 300 esemplari ciascuno, durante il trasporto sono stati sottoposti ad un
drastico abbassamento della temperatura e all’arrivo sono stati collocati in vasche riscaldate a 24-
26°C. Dopo cinque giorni di stabulazione tutti i soggetti presentavano aumento della frequenza
respiratoria, letargia e inappetenza, con totale mortalità nel giro di quattro giorni dalla comparsa della
sintomatologia clinica. In entrambi gli episodi sono stati prelevati e portati in laboratorio 20 soggetti
che presentavano petecchie emorragiche ed aree di discromia cutanea. All’esame necroscopico si
osservavano: branchie di aspetto necrotico con filamenti congesti, pallore delle lamelle ed eccesso di
muco, splenomegalia, rene pallido ed edematoso. All’esame istologico si evidenziava malattia
branchiale con iperplasia e necrosi dell’epitelio, emorragie alla base delle lamelle primarie e nel grasso
periviscerale, necrosi a carico della milza, miocardio e del tessuto interstiziale renale. Le cellule in
fase di degenerazione mostravano frequentemente inclusioni intranucleari debolmente basofile e
marginazione della cromatina. Aeromonas hydrophila è stata isolata all’esame batteriologico dal rene
di alcuni campioni. Sono state effettuate indagini virologiche per la ricerca di herpesvirus dei ciprinidi.
Le analisi per KHV (Koi Herpes Virus) sono risultate negative, mentre campioni prelevati da rene,
milza e cuore sono risultati positivi per CyHV-2 mediante nested-PCR. I prodotti di amplificazione
sono stati successivamente sequenziati confermando la positività per CyHV-2.
Questa è la prima segnalazione di malattia da CyHV-2 in C. auratus in Italia. Gli autori ipotizzano che
la malattia, presente in fase latente, sia stata condizionata da fattori stressanti, come il repentino sbalzo
di temperatura avvenuto durante il trasporto
Vaccine interaction and protection against virulent Avian Metapneumovirus (AMPV) challenge after combined administration of Newcastle disease and AMPV live vaccine sto one-day old turkeys
No full textThe combined administration of Newcastle Disease (ND) and Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) live vaccines in turkey hatcheries is advantageous, but compatibility has not yet been experimentally demonstrated. To investigate any possible interference between the two vaccines, AMPV subtype B live vaccine strain VCO3 was given to one-day old turkeys either alone or in combination with two different ND vaccines of the B1 and VG/GA strains. AMPV and NDV post-vaccination shedding and humoral immune response were assessed. Birds were protected from virulent AMPV challenge and differences in clinical signs between groups vaccinated with AMPV vaccine alone or in combination with ND vaccines were not statistically significant. Furthermore there were not interference in vaccines replication in the respiratory tract. Further studies are required to understand if protection after NDV challenge is affected by NDV and AMPV combined vaccination
AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF FREE SPHINGOSINE IN SERUM
No full textA rapid, sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of sphingosine in human serum. After precipitation with methanol, the samples were extracted using Carbopack B disposable columns; the sphingosine was eluted with 0.05 M hydrochloric acid in methanol - dichloromethane (20: 80, v/v) and the extract evaporated to dryness at 40-degrees-C. The sample residue was then reconstituted with methanol and reacted with o-phthaldialdehyde reagent to produce a fluorescent compound. Separation was performed using an LC-18 column with 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 7) - methanol - acetonitrile (15 : 80: 5, v/v) as mobile phase. Fluorescence detection was performed with excitation and emission wavelengths of 340 and 455 nm, respectively. The serum extract was re-analyzed with a cyano LC columns to minimize the possibility of false positive results. The possible interference of compounds having a structure similar to that of sphingosine was evaluated. The mean recovery of sphingosine was > 94.5 %. The limit of detection of the assay was 1 ng mL-1. The between-run and within-run coefficients of variation for replicate analyses were < 4.0 % and < 3.4 %, respectively. The levels of free sphingosine in the serum of 40 normal subjects (20 male and 20 female) was investigated; the average level was 81.6 +/- 41.1 ng mL-1 (mean +/- S.D.) for males and 85.5 +/- 33.7 ng mL-1 for females
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