West Nile virus transmission. results from the integrated surveillance system in Italy, 2008 to 2015

IIn Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillance systems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillance systems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to define and update the map of affected areas i.e. provinces during the vector activity period from June to October. WNV continues to cause severe illnesses in Italy during every transmission season, albeit cases are sporadic and the epidemiology varies by virus lineage and geographic area. The integration of surveillance activities and a multidisciplinary approach made it possible and have been fundamental in supporting implementation of and/or strengthening preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of WNV trough blood, tissues and organ donation and to implementing further measures for vector control

Infection by Mycobacterium caprae in three cattle herds in Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a contagious chronic disease associated with progressive emaciation (starvation) and tubercles (granuloma) formation commonly caused by Mycobacterium bovis. In cattle, M. caprae may also be responsible for bTB. In EU, human tuberculosis due to M. bovis had a notification rate of 0.04 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017, but data did not include M. caprae human infections. From September 2018 to April 2019, bTB outbreaks were investigated in three neighbouring cattle herds in Parma province, Northern Italy. Parma municipality belongs to an officially free of bovine tuberculosis (OTF) Italian region. Official testing on cattle herds, performed every three years as legally required, revealed no positive animals. Tubercular lesions were found during the post mortem (PM) examination of slaughtered cattle and M. caprae genotype SB0418/VNTR 4,3,5,3,4,5,2,2,4,3,15,5 was isolated. This report confirms the crucial importance of PM veterinary inspection at slaughterhouse, despite the OTF status of cattle herds

West Nile virus surveillance using sentinel birds: results of eleven years of testing in corvids in a region of northern Italy

The natural transmission cycle of West Nile virus (WNV) involves birds as primary hosts and mosquitoes as vectors, but this virus can spread to mammals, human beings included. Asymptomatic infected donors pose a risk to the safety of blood transfusions and organ transplants, as WNV can be transmitted through these medical procedures. Since 2009, the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy has been implementing an integrated surveillance system in order to detect WNV circulation in the environment at an early stage. Here we report the results of the two components of the surveillance system, the active testing of corvids and humans, and demonstrate that bird surveillance alone improves a surveillance system based solely on human case detection. As WNV risk reduction measures are applied on a provincial basis, we assessed the ability of this surveillance system component to detect virus circulation prior to the notification of the first human case for each province. Overall, 99 epidemic seasons were evaluated as a result of 11 years (2013–2023) of surveillance in the nine provinces of the region. In this period, 22,314 corvids were tested for WNV and 642 (2.9%) were found to be infected. WNV was generally first detected in birds in July, with sample prevalence peaks occurring between August and September. During the same period, 469 autochthonous human cases were notified, about 60% of which were reported in August. WNV was detected 79 times out of the 99 seasons considered. The virus was notified in birds 73 times (92.4%) and 60 times (75.9%) in humans. WNV was first or only notified in birds in 57 seasons (72.1%), while it was first or only notified in humans in 22 seasons (27.8%). Active surveillance in corvids generally allows the detection of WNV before the onset of human cases. Failure of virus detection occurred mainly in seasons where the number of birds tested was low. Our results show that active testing of a minimum of 3.8 corvids per 100 km2 provides a satisfactory timeliness in the virus detection, but for early detection of WNV it is crucial to test birds between mid-June and mid-August

Eleven Years of Health Monitoring in Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

In recent years, the growth of wild ungulates has increased the focus on their health monitoring. In particular, the health status of wild boars is relevant for the economic impact on the pig industry. The Emilia-Romagna region activated a wildlife monitoring plan to better evaluate the health status of the wild boar population. Between 2011 and 2021, samples of found dead and hunted wild boar have been examined for trichinellosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, african swine fever, classical swine fever, Aujeszky’s disease, swine vesicular disease, and swine influenza A. Trichinella britovi was identified in 0.001% of the examined wild boars; neither M. bovis nor M. tuberculosis were found in M. tuberculosis complex positive samples; 2.3% were positive for Brucella suis; 29.4% of the sera were positive for Aujeszky’s disease virus; and 0.9% of the samples were positive for swine influenza A virus. With an uncertain population estimate, the number of animals tested, the number of positives, and the sampling method do not allow us to make many inferences but suggest the need to implement and strengthen the existing surveillance activity, as it seems to be the only viable alternative for safeguarding animal and human health

Mosquito, Bird and Human Surveillance of West Nile and Usutu Viruses in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) in 2010

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>In 2008, after the first West Nile virus (WNV) detection in the Emilia-Romagna region, a surveillance system, including mosquito- and bird-based surveillance, was established to evaluate the virus presence. Surveillance was improved in following years by extending the monitoring to larger areas and increasing the numbers of mosquitoes and birds tested.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>A network of mosquito traps, evenly distributed and regularly activated, was set up within the surveyed area. A total of 438,558 mosquitoes, grouped in 3,111 pools and 1,276 birds (1,130 actively sampled and 146 from passive surveillance), were tested by biomolecular analysis. The survey detected WNV in 3 <em>Culex pipiens</em> pools while Usutu virus (USUV) was found in 89 <em>Cx. pipiens</em> pools and in 2 <em>Aedes albopictus</em> pools. Two birds were WNV-positive and 12 were USUV-positive. Furthermore, 30 human cases of acute meningoencephalitis, possibly caused by WNV or USUV, were evaluated for both viruses and 1,053 blood bags were tested for WNV, without any positive result.</p> <h3>Conclusions/Significance</h3><p>Despite not finding symptomatic human WNV infections during 2010, the persistence of the virus, probably due to overwintering, was confirmed through viral circulation in mosquitoes and birds, as well as for USUV. In 2010, circulation of the two viruses was lower and more delayed than in 2009, but this decrease was not explained by the relative abundance of <em>Cx. pipiens</em> mosquito, which was greater in 2010. The USUV detection in mosquito species confirms the role of <em>Cx. pipiens</em> as the main vector and the possible involvement of <em>Ae. albopictus</em> in the virus cycle. The effects of meteorological conditions on the presence of USUV-positive mosquito pools were considered finding an association with drought conditions and a wide temperature range. The output produced by the surveillance system demonstrated its usefulness and reliability in terms of planning public health policies.</p> </div

Prevalence of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes contamination in foods of animal origin in Italy.

The present survey collected and analyzed the results of routine testing for Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes on foods of animal origin submitted for official controls in Italy during 2001 to 2002. Salmonella was detected in 2.2% of 71,643 food samples examined, and the isolation rates ranged from 9.9% for raw poultry meat to less than 0.1% for dairy products. Isolation rates were also high in raw pork (4.9%) and processed meats (5.3%), which often involved pork. Low rates were observed in seafood (0.5%) and in ready-to-eat foods, such as grocery products (0.7%) and ice creams (0.1%). Serotyping showed that approximately 50% of the isolates belonged to the serotypes most commonly isolated from humans in Italy, thus confirming that most cases of human salmonellosis have a foodborne origin. Levels of L. monocytogenes were higher than what is accepted by the current regulation in 2.4% of 42,300 food samples. The positivity rates ranged from 10.3% in raw pork to none in eggs and egg products. Contamination rates were higher in other meat products (between 2 and 5%) and fish (6.5%) than in cheeses (1.1%) and other dairy products (0.6%). Routine control activities on the microbial contamination of foods can generate data with statistical and epidemiological value. Such data can be used as a basis for estimating the exposure of consumers to foodborne pathogens, following the trends of contamination over time, and evaluating the effects of control measures on the contamination of food

Four-Year Monitoring of Foodborne Pathogens in Raw Milk Sold by Vending Machines in Italy

Prevalence data were collected from official microbiological records monitoring four selected foodborne pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter jejuni) in raw milk sold by self-service vending machines in seven Italian Regions (n. 60907 samples from 1239 vending machines) during the years 2008 to 2011. Data of samples analyzed both by culture-based and real-time PCR methods were collected in one Region. A total of 100 raw milk consumers in four regions were interviewed while purchasing raw milk from vending machines. One hundred and seventy eight samples out of 60907 were positive for one of the four foodborne pathogens investigated; overall, 18 samples were positive for Salmonella spp., 83 for L. monocytogenes, 24 for E. coli O157:H7 and 53 for C. jejuni in the seven Regions investigated. There were no significant differences in prevalence among Regions, but a significant increase in C. jejuni prevalence was observed over the years. A comparison of the two different analysis methods showed that real-time PCR is from 2.71 to 9.40 times more sensitive than culture-based method. Data on consumer habits showed that some behaviors may enhance the risk of infection due to raw milk consumption: 37% of consumers do not boil milk before consumption, 93% never use an insulated bag to transport raw milk home, and raw milk is consumed by children under five years of age. The study emphasizes that end-product controls alone are not sufficient to guarantee an adequate level of consumer protection. The beta distribution of positive samples in this study and the data on raw milk consumer habits are useful and appropriate for the development of a National Quantitative Risk Assessment of Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157 and C. jejuni related to raw milk consumption

Evidence of Simultaneous Circulation of West Nile and Usutu Viruses in Mosquitoes Sampled in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) in 2009

BACKGROUND: In recent years human diseases due to mosquito-borne viruses were increasingly reported in Emilia-Romagna region (Italy), from the chikungunya virus in 2007 to the West Nile virus (WNV) in 2008. An extensive entomological survey was performed in 2009 to establish the presence and distribution of mosquito arboviruses in this region, with particular reference to flaviviruses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From May 6 to October 31, a total of 190,516 mosquitoes were sampled in georeferenced stations, grouped in 1,789 pools according date of collection, location, and species, and analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect the presence of RNA belong to Flavivirus genus. WNV was detected in 27 mosquito pools, producing sequences similar to those of birds and human strains obtained in 2008 outbreak, pointed out the probable virus overwintering. Isolation of WNV was achieved from one of these pools. Moreover 56 pools of mosquitoes tested positive for Usutu virus (USUV). Most PCR positive pools consisted of Culex pipiens, which also was the most analyzed mosquito species (81.4% of specimens); interestingly, USUV RNA was also found in two Aedes albopictus mosquito pools. Simultaneous circulation of WNV and USUV in the survey area was highlighted by occurrence of 8 mosquito WNV- and USUV-positive pools and by the overlaying of the viruses "hot spots", obtained by kernel density estimation (KDE) analysis. Land use of sampled stations pointed out a higher proportion of WNV-positive Cx. pipiens pool in rural environments respect the provenience of total sampled pool, while the USUV-positive pools were uniformly captured in the different environments. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Obtained data highlighting the possible role of Cx. pipiens mosquito as the main vector for WNV and USUV in Northern Italy, and the possible involvement of Ae. albopictus mosquito in USUV cycle. The described mosquito-based surveillance could constitute the foundation for a public health alert system targeting mosquito borne arboviruses

Dataset accompanying the article: West Nile virus surveillance using sentinel birds: results of eleven years of West Nile virus testing in corvids in a region of Northern Italy

&lt;p&gt;In this dataset are resumed the results of West Nile virus surveillance in sentinel corvids in the Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy. Overall, 15,632 European magpies (&lt;em&gt;Pica pica&lt;/em&gt;), 4670 Hooded crows (&lt;em&gt;Corvus cornix&lt;/em&gt;), and 2012 Eurasian jays (&lt;em&gt;Garrulus glandarius&lt;/em&gt;) were collected between May and October 2013-2023. In the nine provinces of the region, birds were shot or captured using Larsen traps and killed by trained hunters by cervical dislocation in accordance with the provisions of the national legislation on animal welfare (Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009). Sampling was carried out on a voluntary basis under the supervision of the official veterinary services, which ensured rapid delivery of the birds to the laboratory in charge of testing.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;From each sampled bird, heart, brain, kidney, and spleen were pooled, mechanically homogenized and tested by real-time PCRs to detect WNV RNA (Del Amo et al., 2013; Eiden et al., 2010; Tang et al., 2006). All tests were performed in the same laboratory (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell&rsquo;Emilia Romagna; IZSLER, Reggio Emilia site).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The following data are available for statistical analysis: bird species, sampling date, sampling province, date of delivery to the laboratory, testing start date, test result, date of notification of positive result.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the same dataset are reported some data about incidence of human cases of disease due to West Nile virus infection (neurological disease or fever), per year, week, and province.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The record trace is described in Table 1.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;References&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Del Amo, J., Sotelo, E., Fern&aacute;ndez-Pinero, J., Gallardo, C., Llorente, F., Ag&uuml;ero, M., Jim&eacute;nez-Clavero, M.A., 2013. A novel quantitative multiplex real-time RT-PCR for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of West Nile virus lineages 1 and 2, and of Usutu virus. J Virol Methods 189, 321&ndash;327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2013.02.019&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Eiden, M., Vina-Rodriguez, A., Hoffmann, B., Ziegler, U., Groschup, M.H., 2010. Two new real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays with unique target sites for the specific and sensitive detection of lineages 1 and 2 West Nile virus strains. J Vet Diagn Invest 22, 748&ndash;753. https://doi.org/10.1177/104063871002200515&nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tang, Y., Anne Hapip, C., Liu, B., Fang, C.T., 2006. Highly sensitive TaqMan RT-PCR assay for detection and quantification of both lineages of West Nile virus RNA. J Clin Virol 36, 177&ndash;182. &lt;a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2006.02.008"&gt;https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2006.02.008&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Table 1. Dataset record trace&lt;/p&gt; &lt;table&gt; &lt;tbody&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Field_name&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Year&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Year of sampling&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;province_CODE&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Italian code of the province of sampling&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;BIRD_species&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Bird species collected: magpie (Pica pica), hooded crow (Corvus cornix); &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;jay (Garrulus glandarius)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;N_birds_collected&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of birds collected&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sampling_ID&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sampling code&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;dt_sampling&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sampling date of birds&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;dt_delivery&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Date of delivery to the lab (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;dt_registration&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Date of registration of the lab (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;dt_analysis&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Date of analysis (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;dt_notification&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Date of result notification (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;WNV_PCR_Positive&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of birds with WNV Positive result (PCR)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;WNV_PCR_tested&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of birds tested (PCR)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;WNV_PCR_not_tested&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of birds not tested&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;WNV_PCR_Negative&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of birds with WNV Negative result (PCR)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;sampling_week_corvids&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of week of sampling (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;notification_week_corvids&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of week of result notification (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;num_WNhuman_cases&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of WN disease human cases&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;first_human_notification_dt&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Date of notification of the first human disease case&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;province_pop&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Province population&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;human_inc&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Incidence of human cases (x100,000)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;flag_season_human_cases&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Occurrence of WN human cases (1=Yes; 0=No)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;week_first human_case&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Number of week of notification of the first human disease case&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;early_detection_code&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Early detection code (1=first detection in birds; 0=first detection in human beings; 9=No case detection in human beings)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;province_sup_km2&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Province surface (km2)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;delta_sampling_lab&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Days from sampling to delivery to the lab (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;delta_lab_testing&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Days from lab registration to test (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;delta_testing_notification&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Days from testing to result notification (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;delta_sampling_notification&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;p&gt;Days from sampling to result notification (birds)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt; &lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt; &lt;p&gt;&nbsp;&lt;/p&gt

Eradication of Swine Vesicular Disease in Italy

Swine vesicular disease (SVD) is a contagious viral disease of pigs clinically indistinguishable from other vesicular diseases, such as foot and mouth disease, vesicular stomatitis, vesicular exanthema of swine, and idiopathic vesicular disease. In Italy, where SVD was first reported in 1966, an eradication program started in 1995. The program, updated in 2008, was based on regionalization, complete control on pig movements, improvement of pig farms biosecurity, appropriate cleansing and disinfection procedures of vehicles approved for pig transportation, and a testing program using both serological and virological assays. In cases of confirmed SVD virus infection a stamping-out policy was applied. In the period 2009 to 2019, between 300,000 and 400,000 pigs were serologically tested each year. The last SVD outbreak was notified in 2015, and the last seropositive pig was detected in 2017. SVD surveillance is still ongoing and no proof of virus activity has been detected so far. All available data support the complete SVD virus eradication from the Italian pig industry.</jats:p