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e-ISSN 1828-1427

 

Rivista trimestrale di Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria edita dall'Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’

A quarterly journal devoted to veterinary public health, veterinary science and medicine published by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’ in Teramo, Italy


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2014 - Volume 50 (4), October-December
   
 
Elena Andreoli, Enrico Radaelli, Irene Bertoletti, Alessandro Bianchi, Eugenio Scanziani, Silvia Tagliabue & Silvana Mattiello  
Leptospira spp. infection in wild ruminants: a survey in Central Italian Alps 285-291
doi: 10.12834/VetIt.1309.06
 
Summary
Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease diffused worldwide, and wildlife species are commonly considered to be important epidemiological carriers. Four-hundred and forty‑one serological and 198 renal samples from red deer, roe deer and chamois collected in the Province of Sondrio were analysed using the microscopic agglutination test and histopathologic examination. Positive serological findings were found only in 15 red deer and 19 positive serologic reactions were recorded. The most frequent serovars were Bratislava and Grippotyphosa, followed by Pomona, Hardjo and Copenhagheni. Twenty-two per cent of renal samples from seropositive red deer were affected by mild to moderate multifocal chronic lymphoplasmacytic and fibrosing tubulo-interstitial nephritis, mainly involving the cortical parenchyma. In this study, antibodies to Leptospira spp. were infrequent in wild ruminants, and only red deer seemed to be sensitive to the infection. Given the low presence and the fact that there was no record of Leptospira spp. infections in cattle, sheep, goats and also hunters in area during the study period, wild ruminants in Alpine environments cannot be considered as reservoirs or important sources of Leptospira spp. infection for humans or domestic animals.

Keywords
Central Italian Alps, Leptospira spp. infection, Red deer, Renal lesion, Serology, Wild ruminants.


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