National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter
The National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter serves as a technical and scientific hub that ensures high standards in research, the quality of analyses, and the effectiveness of official controls related to this pathogen at the national level. Operating in the fields of food safety and animal health, the NRL plays a crucial role in supporting control and surveillance activities on campylobacteriosis, with the primary objective of protecting public health.
The National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Campylobacter was designated by the Ministry of Health on 7 March 2007, in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625. The Laboratory plays a key role in the research, monitoring and surveillance of Campylobacter spp. in food, animals and humans, collaborating with various laboratories and institutions at both national and international levels.
The main activities are:
- International collaboration: collaborates with the EU Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter at the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA), to ensure alignment of activities at European level.
- Coordination of national laboratories: coordinates the national official laboratories by promoting the harmonisation and improvement of analytical methods related to Campylobacter and campylobacteriosis.
- Training: organises training courses and annual workshops for the technical and scientific staff of national official laboratories.
- Technical support and consultancy: provides technical and scientific assistance to the Ministry of Health and Competent Authorities for the planning and implementation of official control plans concerning Campylobacter, and technical-scientific support in the event of foodborne outbreaks caused by this pathogen.
- Interlaboratory tests: organises comparative interlaboratory tests (Proficiency Tests) for the detection and quantification of Campylobacter aimed at national official laboratories.
- Scientific research and characterisation of Campylobacter : carries out research and analyses on zoonotic Campylobacter, and performs phenotypic and molecular characterisations using innovative and advanced techniques such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF).
- Strain collection: maintains a collection of Campylobacter strains.
- Antimicrobial resistance: determines the antimicrobial resistance profile of Campylobacter and sends isolation data to the Enter-net system.
The quality of laboratory test results is ensured by the accreditation of tests issued by ACCREDIA in accordance with the requirements of the UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018 standard, by the use of validated and internationally recognised test methods, and by systematic participation in interlaboratory proficiency testing schemes.
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Nota del 7 marzo 2007 DSVET 2/248/P del Ministero della Salute"Designazione del Laboratorio Nazionale di Riferimento per Campylobacter"(52 KB)
Con disposizione n. 10295 del 23.11.2009 della Direzione dell’Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” (IZSAM) il LNR per Campylobacter è parte del “Centro di Collaborazione OIE per la Formazione Veterinaria, l’Epidemiologia, la Sicurezza Alimentare e il Benessere Animale e dei Centri Nazionali e internazionali di Referenza”.
Direttiva 2003/99/CE del Parlamento e del Consiglio Europeo del 17 novembre 2003 sulle misure di sorveglianza delle zoonosi e degli agenti zoonotici, recante modifica della decisione 90/424/CEE e che abroga la direttiva 92/117/CEE.(128 KB)
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Giuliano Garofolo
Head
Giuliano Garofolo is a veterinary officer and Head of the National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter. In this role, he coordinates activities at the national level, ensuring the quality and oversight of analyses for this zoonotic agent, which has a significant impact on both the Italian and European populations.
Giuliano Garofolo is a veterinary officer and Head of the National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter. In this role, he coordinates activities at the national level, ensuring the quality and oversight of analyses for this zoonotic agent, which has a significant impact on both the Italian and European populations.
He leads work in specialist bacteriology, molecular identification and typing of pathogenic bacteria, and provides support in the development of bacterial vaccines. He also has extensive experience in research management and has served in leadership roles in several national and international projects.
Over the past 15 years, he has worked in the fields of food safety, animal health, and highly pathogenic bacteria. His main scientific interests include molecular evolution of bacteria, antimicrobial resistance, and applied strategies for its control and mitigation, with a particular focus on public health impact. He is also interested in the study and application of CRISPR technology in microbiology.
His research primarily focuses on the use of innovative methodologies to monitor diseases and outbreaks, studying their evolution and spread over time and space.
He has authored 76 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and has an h-index of 24, according to the SCOPUS citation database.
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Bacteriology and Bacterial Antigen Development
Go to the UnitThe Unit focuses on the research and diagnosis of bacterial pathogens, with particular attention to foodborne pathogens and the analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Its diagnostic services include advanced bacterial identification (MALDI-TOF, PCR, WGS), antibiotic susceptibility testing, monitoring of veterinary drugs, and molecular diagnostics. The laboratory also participates in innovative national and international research projects on zoonoses, bacterial vaccine development, and AMR surveillance, aiming to contribute to improvements in global public and veterinary health.
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Antibiotic resistance, plasmids, and virulence-associated markers in human strains of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated in Italy
Garcia-Fernandez, A., Janowicz, A., Marotta, F., Napoleoni, M., Arena, S., Primavilla, S., Pitti, M., Romantini, R., Tomei, F., Garofolo, G., & Villa, L. (2024). Frontiers in microbiology, 14, 1293666.
Genomic and Antimicrobial Surveillance of Campylobacter Population in Italian Poultry
Marotta, F., Janowicz, A., Romantini, R., Di Marcantonio, L., Di Timoteo, F., Romualdi, T., Zilli, K., Barco, L., D'Incau, M., Mangone, I., Cito, F., Di Domenico, M., Pomilio, F., Ricci, L., & Garofolo, G. (2023). Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 12(15), 2919.
Occurrence of Campylobacter in Faeces, Livers and Carcasses of Wild Boars Hunted in Tuscany (Italy) and Evaluation of MALDI-TOF MS for the Identification of Campylobacter Species
Ziomek, M., Gondek, M., Torracca, B., Marotta, F., Garofolo, G., Wieczorek, K., Michalak, K., Fratini, F., & Pedonese, F. (2023). Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 12(4), 778.
A Multicenter Proposal for a Fast Tool To Screen Biosecure Chicken Flocks for the Foodborne Pathogen Campylobacter
Hoorfar, J., Koláčková, I., Johannessen, G. S., Garofolo, G., Marotta, F., Wieczorek, K., Osek, J., Torp, M., Spilsberg, B., Sekse, C., Thornval, N. R., & Karpíšková, R. (2020). Applied and environmental microbiology, 86(20), e01051-20.
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