Evaluation of the risk factors contributing to the African swine fever occurrence in Sardinia, Italy

This study assesses the relation between hypothesized risk factors and African swine fever virus (ASFV) distribution in Sardinia (Italy) after the beginning of the eradication program in 1993, using a Bayesian multivariable logistic regression mixed model. Results indicate that the probability of ASFV occurrence in Sardinia was associated to particular socio-cultural, productive and economical factors found in the region, particularly to large number of confined (i.e., closed) farms (most of them backyard), high road density, high mean altitude, large number of open fattening farms, and large number of pigs per commune. Conversely, large proportion of open farms with at least one census and large proportion of open farms per commune, were found to be protective factors for ASFV. Results suggest that basic preventive and control strategies, such as yearly census or registration of the pigs per farm and better control of the public lands where pigs are usually raised, together with endanced effords of outreach and communication with pig producers should help in the success of the eradication program for ASF in the Island. Methods and results presented here will inform decision making to better control and eradicate ASF in Sardinia and in all those areas with similar management and epidemiological conditions

Bluetongue disease

Bluetongue (BT) is a noncontagious OIE-listed disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by a virus (Bluetongue virus—BTV) of the Orbivirus genus within the family Reoviridae and transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides. BT is a considerable socioeconomic concern and of major importance for the international trade of animals and animal products. In the past, BT endemic areas were considered those between latitudes 40 °N and 35 °S; however, BT has spread far beyond this traditional range. BTV has multiple serotypes and these serotypes exist in a complex network of serological cross-relationships, varying from partial to no protection between heterologous strains. This chapter summarizes several aspects of BT and BTV with particular emphasis for BTV epidemiology in Sahelian Africa

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

Official Data and Analytical Forecasts: Differences and Similarities Among Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Confirmed Cases and Deaths

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading widely with an exponential growth infection rate in several countries Worldwide: up to May 5th, 2020, about 3,517,345 cases and 243,401 deaths have been confirmed (1). In Europe overall, about 1.5 million official cases have been reported, and Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom are the most affected countries. From the 31th of January, in order to better control the virus spread, the Italian government declared an “emergency state,” which is characterized by the implementation of massive containment measures (2, 3). As now in China, the risk of COVID-19 spreading to other countries is a great concern, as well as the perspective of a secondary cases wave, and given that no vaccine is currently available, rapid and specific diagnostic procedures are an essential tool to allow accurate information of the disease. Furthermore, reliable and timely data are fundamental tools to guide the right political and health interventions and to better understand the virus spread. Since the first Italian spread of the disease from the highest risk area (Northern Italy) to the rest of the nation (the 2nd of March, 2020), the Italian Department of Civil Defense (DCD) have published official reports on COVID-19 distribution to all the Italian regions and provinces. The daily regional reports have provided data about number of tests executed (“Tamponi”) and the total COVID-19 cases (“Casi totali”), and details cover recoveries (“Dimessi/Guariti”) and the number of people who have died (“Deceduti”), who are hospitalized with symptoms (“Ricoverati con sintomi”), who are hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) (“Terapia intensiva”), and who are in house isolation (“Isolamento domiciliare”). The smallest administrative units in which the data are aggregate are the Italian provinces. All these data are currently used by several scientists, stakeholders, and politicians to understand the daily disease evolution and forecast the possible disease spread in Italy