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Di Marco Lo Presti V, Ippolito D, Migliore S, Tolone M, Mignacca SA, Marino AMF, Amato B, Calogero R, Vitale M, Vicari D, Ciarello FP, Fiasconaro M. Large-scale serological survey on Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in sheep and goat herds in Sicily, Southern Italy. Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1334036. [PMID: 38362298 PMCID: PMC10868524 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1334036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a worldwide chronic, contagious enteric disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) mainly affecting ruminant species. PTB is a WOAH-listed disease with direct and indirect economic losses in the livestock sector, negative impact on animal welfare and significant public health concerns. In spite of this, MAP prevalence in small ruminants is still unknown and the prevalence appears to be underestimated in many countries. The aim of this study is providing a first large-scale serological survey on MAP infection in small ruminants in Sicily, a region of Southern Italy with the 11.3 and 8.9% Italian national heritage of sheep and goats, respectively. Methods For this purpose, we analyzed a total of 48,643 animals reared in 439 flocks throughout Sicily. MAP seroprevalence was estimated both at herd-level and animal-level within breeds reared in all the nine sampled provinces. Results Our results revealed a high overall apparent prevalence at herd-level of 71.8% in sheep and 60.8% in goat farms with an animal-level prevalence of 4.5 and 5.1% in sheep and goats, respectively. Significant statistical differences were found between the provinces and within the breeds both in sheep and goats. Discussion Our study provides the first large-scale serological survey on PTB infection in small ruminants in Sicily and showed a high prevalence of disease depending to the species, breed and province. This study represents the first step to better understand the MAP epidemiology in a typical Mediterranean breeding context, suggesting the need of in-depth study on the herds risk factors, including the eventual presence of candidate genes for resistance/susceptibility to PTB in native breeds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dorotea Ippolito
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
- Unit of Emerging Zoonoses, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Migliore
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
| | - Marco Tolone
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | | | | | - Benedetta Amato
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Rosita Calogero
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Vitale
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
| | - Domenico Vicari
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Michele Fiasconaro
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy
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Pagliasso G, Di Blasio A, Vitale N, Romano A, Decastelli L, Quasso A, Ricchi M, Dondo A, Pastorino P, Gennero MS, Bergagna S. Goat Paratuberculosis: Experimental Model for the Evaluation of Mycobacterium Persistence in Raw Milk Cheese. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9102032. [PMID: 34683352 PMCID: PMC8538418 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9102032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative agent of chronic proliferative enteritis found in ruminants, known as paratuberculosis (PTB). The spread of PTB is increasing in countries with advanced animal husbandry practices, leading to significant economic losses. Moreover, a supposed zoonotic role of MAP in Crohn's disease (CD) in humans has been discussed by the scientific community; however, although the association between MAP and CD has generally been accepted, it is still up for debate if MAP is the main cause of CD, a contributing factor, or merely a commensal organism for the development of CD. The aim of this study was to assess the survival of MAP during the entire production process of a traditional Italian goat's raw milk fresh cheese, the "Robiola di Roccaverano", assessing the survival rate and persistence of MAP in the final product. A mix of MAP field isolates from goats of the Roccaverano area and a reference ATCC strain were used to carry out milk in experimental inoculation. Samples of milk, curd and cheese were taken in two consecutive batches of production. Microbiological challenge tests, evaluated by f57-qPCR, showed a significant decrease in MAP charge during the cheesemaking process for both batches, suggesting the productive process has an impact on MAP survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Pagliasso
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Alessia Di Blasio
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
- Azienda Sanitaria Locale TO3, S.C. Sanità Animale, 10064 Torino, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Vitale
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Angelo Romano
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Lucia Decastelli
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Antonio Quasso
- Azienda Sanitaria Locale AT, S.C. Sanità Animale, 14100 Asti, Italy;
| | - Matteo Ricchi
- National Reference Centre for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Emilia Romagna e della Lombardia, Sezione di Piacenza-Gariga, Strada della Faggiola 1, 29027 Gariga di Podenzano, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Dondo
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Paolo Pastorino
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-011-268-6251
| | - Maria Silvia Gennero
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
| | - Stefania Bergagna
- The Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154 Torino, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.B.); (N.V.); (A.R.); (L.D.); (A.D.); (M.S.G.); (S.B.)
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