The Mediterranean Sea is recognized as a marine biodiversity hotspot. This enclosed basin is facing several anthropogenic-driven threats, such as seawater warming, pollution, overfishing, bycatch, ...intense maritime transport and invasion by alien species. The present review focuses on the diversity and ecology of specific marine trophically transmitted helminth endoparasites (TTHs) of the Mediterranean ecosystems, aiming to elucidate their potential effectiveness as ‘sentinels’ of anthropogenic disturbances in the marine environment. The chosen TTHs comprise cestodes and nematodes sharing complex life cycles, involving organisms from coastal and marine mid/upper-trophic levels as definitive hosts. Anthropogenic disturbances directly impacting the free-living stages of the parasites and their host population demographies can significantly alter the distribution, infection levels and intraspecific genetic variability of these TTHs. Estimating these parameters in TTHs can provide valuable information to assess the stability of marine trophic food webs. Changes in the distribution of particular TTHs species can also serve as indicators of sea temperature variations in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the bioaccumulation of pollutants. The contribution of the chosen TTHs to monitor anthropogenic-driven changes in the Mediterranean Sea, using their measurable attributes at both spatial and temporal scales, is proposed.
Nervous Necrosis Virus (NNV) represents one of the most threatening pathogens for Mediterranean aquaculture. Several NNV strains are currently co-circulating in the Mediterranean Basin with a high ...prevalence of the RGNNV genotype and the RGNNV/SJNNV reassortant strain and a more limited diffusion of the SJNNV genotype and the SJNNV/RGNNV reassortant. In the present study, a one-step multiplex RT-PCR (mRT-PCR) assay was developed as an easy, cost-effective and rapid diagnostic technique to detect RGNNV and the reassortant RGNNV/SJNNV strain and to distinguish them from SJNNV and the reassortant SJNNV/RGNNV strain in a single RT-PCR reaction. A unique amplification profile was obtained for each genotype/reassortant enabling their rapid identification from cell culture lysates or directly from brain tissues of suspected fish. The method’s detection limit varied between 10
2.3
and 10
3.4
TCID
50
ml
-1
depending on viral strains. No cross-reacitivty with viruses and bacteria frequently associated with gilthead seabream, European seabass and marine environment was observed. The mRT-PCR was shown to be an accurate, rapid and affordable method to support traditional diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis of VNN, being able to reduce considerably the time to identify the viral genotype or the involvement of reassortant strains.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The genus
includes flagellated protozoa belonging to the family Trypanosomatidae (Euglenozoa, Kinetoplastida) that can infect humans and several animal species. The most studied species are those ...causing severe human pathology, such as Chagas disease in South and Central America, and the human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or infections highly affecting animal health, such as nagana in Africa and surra with a wider geographical distribution. The presence of these
species in Europe has been thus far linked only to travel/immigration history of the human patients or introduction of infected animals. On the contrary, little is known about the epidemiological status of trypanosomes endemically infecting mammals in Europe, such as
in ruminants and
in rodents and other sporadically reported species. This brief review provides an updated collection of scientific data on the presence of autochthonous
spp. in mammals on the European territory, in order to support epidemiological and diagnostic studies on Trypanosomatid parasites.
Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum is a pathogenic bacterium causing septicaemia in a wide range of marine organisms and inducing severe mortalities, thus it is crucial to conduct its accurate and rapid ...identification. The aim of this study was to assess MALDI-TOF MS as a method of choice for identification of clinical V. anguillarum isolates from affected marine fish. Since the method accuracy might be influenced by the type of the medium used, as well as by the incubation conditions, we tested V. anguillarum isolates grown on standard media with and without the addition of NaCl, cultured at three incubation temperatures, and at three incubation periods. The best scores were retrieved for V. anguillarum strains grown on NaCl-supplemented tryptone soy agar (TSA) at 22°C and incubated for 48h (100% identification to species level; overall score 2.232), followed by incubation at 37°C and 48h (100% to species level; score 2.192). The strains grown on non-supplemented TSA gave the best readings when incubated at 22°C for 72h (100% identification to species level; overall score 2.182), followed by incubation at 15°C for 72h (100% to species level; score 2.160). Unreliable identifications and no-identifications were growing with the incubation duration at 37°C, on both media, amounting to 88.89% for 7d incubation on supplemented TSA, and 92.60% for 7d incubation on non-supplemented TSA. The age of the cultured strains and use of media significantly impacted the mass spectra, demonstrating that for reliable identification, MALDI-TOF MS protein fingerprinting with the on-target extraction should be performed on strains grown on a NaCl-supplemented medium at temperatures between 15 and 22°C, incubated for 48-72 hours.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The increase of global demand of aquaculture products as compensation for the lowering of fishery sustainability has shown a parallel awareness by the consumers on the importance of the safety and ...quality of fish products. Among these, salmon industry has reached a leading position demonstrating the negligible risk of presence of zoonotic helminths such as
in farmed salmon. Despite the massive production of data in literature on parasitological surveys carried out on fresh salmon, no data are published on processed farmed salmon such as smoked products. In 2016, 270 slices of smoked farmed Atlantic salmon (
) and 13 smoked slices from wild sockeye salmon (
) have been analyzed by visual inspection and UV-press method searching for the presence of anisakid nematodes. No parasites were detected in samples from farmed Atlantic salmon, while 10 out of 13 from wild salmon were positive for
larvae. This first survey on the possible presence of anisakid nematodes in processed smoked salmon confirms that this risk in farmed Atlantic salmon products has to be considered negligible.
To date, sand flies (Phlebotominae) are the only recognized biological vectors of
Leishmania infantum
, the causative agent of human visceral leishmaniasis, which is endemic in the Mediterranean ...basin and also widespread in Central and South America, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Dogs are the main domestic reservoir of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, and the role of secondary vectors such as ticks and fleas and particularly Rhipicephalus sanguineus (the brown dog tick) in transmitting
L. infantum
has been investigated. In the present paper, the presence of
Leishmania
DNA was investigated in questing
Ixodes ricinus
ticks collected from 4 rural areas included in three parks of the Emilia-Romagna Region (north-eastern Italy), where active foci of human visceral leishmaniasis have been identified. The analyses were performed on 236 DNA extracts from 7 females, 6 males, 72 nymph pools, and 151 larvae pools. Four samples (1.7%) (i.e., one larva pool, 2 nymph pools, and one adult male) tested positive for
Leishmania
kDNA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of
Leishmania
kDNA in questing
I. ricinus
ticks collected from a rural environment. This finding in unfed larvae, nymphs, and adult male ticks supports the hypothesis that
L. infantum
can have both transstadial and transovarial passage in
I. ricinus
ticks. The potential role of
I. ricinus
ticks in the sylvatic cycle of leishmaniasis should be further investigated.
Leishmaniasis is a neglected vector-borne parasitic disease caused in Italy only by the species
Leishmania infantum
of the
Leishmania donovani
complex, which is the causative agent of the zoonotic ...visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and the sporadic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in humans, and of the canine leishmaniasis (CanL). The disease is considered endemic in southern, central, and insular Italian regions and recognizes phlebotomine sand flies as vector and dogs as main reservoir. Among northern Italian region, Emilia-Romagna shows peculiar epidemiological situation and recent studies are questioning the role of dog as main reservoir of
L. infantum
. Due to their synanthropic relationship with humans, rodents have been tested for
Leishmania
spp
.
in several European countries. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of
Leishmania
spp
.
in peridomestic rodents in the Emilia-Romagna. The study was carried out on 136 peridomestic rodents collected by professional pest control services: 47 brown rats (
Rattus norvegicus
), 39 black rats (
Rattus rattus
) and 50 mice (
Mus musculus
). Specimens of earlobe skin, spleen, liver and prescapular lymph nodes were tested with a real-time PCR. Fifteen (11%) rodents, tested positive for
Leishmania
spp
.
in particular five brown rats (10.6%), five black rats (12.8%) and five mice (10%). Positivity was obtained from different target organs. These findings revealed the presence of
Leishmania
spp. in peridomestic rodents of Emilia-Romagna Region, also in two species never tested before in Italy, namely
R. norvegicus
and
M. musculus
.
Graphical abstract
Nervous Necrosis Virus (NNV) represents one of the most threatening pathogens for Mediterranean aquaculture. Several NNV strains are currently co-circulating in the Mediterranean Basin with a high ...prevalence of the RGNNV genotype and the RGNNV/SJNNV reassortant strain and a more limited diffusion of the SJNNV genotype and the SJNNV/RGNNV reassortant. In the present study, a one-step multiplex RT-PCR (mRT-PCR) assay was developed as an easy, cost-effective and rapid diagnostic technique to detect RGNNV and the reassortant RGNNV/SJNNV strain and to distinguish them from SJNNV and the reassortant SJNNV/RGNNV strain in a single RT-PCR reaction. A unique amplification profile was obtained for each genotype/reassortant enabling their rapid identification from cell culture lysates or directly from brain tissues of suspected fish. The method's detection limit varied between 10.sup.2.3 and 10.sup.3.4 TCID.sub.50 ml.sup.-1 depending on viral strains. No cross-reacitivty with viruses and bacteria frequently associated with gilthead seabream, European seabass and marine environment was observed. The mRT-PCR was shown to be an accurate, rapid and affordable method to support traditional diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis of VNN, being able to reduce considerably the time to identify the viral genotype or the involvement of reassortant strains.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Oomycetes of the genus Saprolegnia are widespread in freshwater environment and are among the main pathogens causing economic losses in salmonid aquaculture.
Infections by mycotic agents in fish ...farming are generally considered to result from chronic stress and poor fish condition associated with water quality problems, adverse environmental conditions, frequent/rough/incorrect handling, concurrent infections, physiological changes associated with reproduction and immunocompromised animals.
To identify risk factors for Saprolegnia infections in trout and Atlantic salmon farming, longitudinal studies were carried out in different Italian, Spanish, and Scottish fish farms. Prevalence of saprolegniosis and fish mortality were monitored over time and statistically analysed with respect to husbandry and environmental factors.
Overall, statistical results by production cycle (trout vs salmon farming) and by country indicate that the prevalence of Saprolegnia may be influenced by peculiarities of the culture system and farming environment. Nevertheless, a specific set of parameters, including lower water temperature, and handling procedures increased Saprolegnia prevalence in all the considered farms. Particularly, in trout farms Saprolegnia infections represented an important contribution to mortality, and prevalence was influenced by water temperature and pH, and by fish density within the tanks. Similarly, temperature and water quality were the main factors influencing the prevalence of Saprolegnia in Atlantic salmon farms. Moreover, molecular analyses confirmed the role of S. parasitica as the main pathogenic oomycete in trout and salmon farming in the considered countries. The identification of risk factors for introduction and increase of Saprolegnia infection in fish farms will allow the correct design of biosecurity and pathogen control strategies.
•Lower water temperatures and handling-related stress represent important risk factors for saprolegniosis in salmonid farms•In trout farms, prevalence of Saprolegnia is influenced by water temperature, pH and fish density within the tanks.•In Atlantic salmon farms, prevalence of Saprolegnia is mainly influenced by temperature and water quality•Saprolegniosis is influenced by different factors according to peculiarities of the culture system / farming environment
Following the diffusion of new eating habits (consumption of uncooked, undercooked, marinated or cold-smoked fish), some cases of parasitic zoonosis from freshwater fish are recently reappeared in ...Italy. One of these is tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum, whose final host could be human. This study aimed to individuate the position of plerocercoid larvae inside perch fillets (Perca fluviatilis) caught in 4 different sites on Como lake in 2011. The fish analyzed were 390. The larvae totally isolated from 112 positive fishes were 164: 85 found in the right fillets and 79 in left ones. According to dorso-ventral disposition in fish, 144 larvae were individuated in dorsal muscles and 20 in ventral ones. Data collected confirm that plerocercoid larvae prefer the upper mass of perch muscle. Dietary education and sanitary care on fish supply are necessary to prevent the diffusion of tapeworm zoonosis in high-risk zones. European legislation establishes freezing to sanitize fish to be eaten raw, marinated or cold-smoked.
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