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Biomedical subjects

S Lauzi

Publications and source records attributed to S Lauzi.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

[Prevalence of Bartonella henselae in stray and domestic cats in different Italian areas: evaluation of the potential risk of transmission of Bartonella to humans].

Bartonella henselae is the major etiological agent of Cat Scratch Disease in humans. Cats act as the natural reservoir of B. henselae and can transmit the infection to humans by bite or scratch. The diffusion of B. henselae was evaluated by seroprevalence and bacteremic status in different stray cat populations located in nine areas of Northern Italy. A total of 1585 cats were tested by blood culture and 361 (23%) resulted bacteremic; 1416 out off 1585 cats were also tested for Bartonella henselae antibodies and 553 (39%) resulted seropositive. The molecular typing of the isolates showed that 26% of bacteremic cats were infected with B. henselae type I, 52% with B. henselae type II, 16% were co-infected with both and 5% infected with B. Clarridgeiae. Moreover 165 domestic cats were tested by blood culture and serological test (IFA test cut-off: 1:64). 35 cats (21%) resulted bacteremic and 49 (43.5%) were seropositive. The molecular typing of the Bartonella isolates of the domestic cats showed that 45% of bacteremic cats were infected with B. henselae type I, 36.5% with B. henselae type II, 12% were coinfected with both and 6% infected with B. Clarridgeiae. For a completely evaluation of health status of the cat for B. henselae infection, the authors suggest both blood culture and serological tests. Nevertheless a nonbacteremic cat with positive serology result should be reevaluated for possible recurrent bacteremia.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in calves sensitized by mycobacteria of the avium/intracellulare group.

Because of the frequent exposure of cattle to mycobacteria of the avium/intracellulare group, an investigation was carried out into the possible repercussions thereof on the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis. Three calves from a bovine tuberculosis-free herd, scored avian reactors in the gamma-interferon assay for bovine tuberculosis, were sedated and inoculated endotracheally with a virulent Mycobacterium bovis strain. Then, three other avian reactors were housed with the above donor calves. Mycobacterium bovis was isolated from the nasal swabs of the three endotracheally infected, donor calves. On these samples, TB complex-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for IS6110 were also positive, albeit with a different time kinetics. The three contact-infected calves showed clear immunological signs of infection; however, their nasal swabs were always PCR-negative and only Mycobacterium avium was isolated. In the endotracheally infected donor calves there was a rise of the gamma-interferon responses to avian and bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) tuberculins, which reached the same stable plateau levels over the whole experiment. The above effect was also observed in the contact-infected calves, even though the response to avian PPD tuberculin always remained at a higher level. By using conventional bovine and avian PPD tuberculins, the comparative intradermal test was generally positive in endotracheally infected, as opposed to contact-infected calves; a positive intradermal test for M. bovis was obtained in two contact-infected calves by different bovine PPD tuberculins based on M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) secreted or somatic antigens. It was concluded that M. bovis infection may be concealed for some time in cattle sensitized by mycobacteria of the avium/intracellulare group and that different diagnostic procedures should be adopted for such animals.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Evaluation of the specificity of the gamma-interferon test in Italian bovine tuberculosis-free herds.

We investigated the specificity of the gamma-interferon test for bovine tuberculosis (TB) in 1,557 cattle in 30 paratuberculosis-free and officially certified TB-free dairy herds, located in three provinces of the Lombardy Region in Northern Italy. The TB-free status of the herds under examination was further confirmed by the tuberculin skin test, by an antibody assay and by post mortem examination of animals culled from the herds during the study period. The specificity of the gamma-interferon tests after a single test and a double sampling scheme were 88.8% and 95.4%, respectively. After a single test, 11.7% of dubious reactors were also detected, while most cattle (47.4%) were shown to be avian reactors, probably due to contamination from infected birds and/or forage. There was strong evidence that the specificity of the test could be related to the animals' interaction with environmental mycobacteria and/or ageing. To reduce the percentage of nonspecific bovine reactors under alleged TB-free conditions, test procedures might involve the use of more specific antigens and/or different reaction thresholds.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Pseudotuberculosis in marmosets, tamarins, and Goeldi's monkeys (Callithrichidae/Callimiconidae) housed at a European zoo.

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is an insidious bacterial infectious agent distributed worldwide and endemic to European countries. It has caused several animal deaths and may threaten the effectiveness of breeding projects for endangered species. In this retrospective study, we examine the prevalence of pseudotuberculosis in Jersey Zoo (Channel Islands, U.K.) over a period of 16 yr to obtain information that can be applied to prevent the infection. The efforts made to control the disease through vaccination are also explored. Our results show that pseudotuberculosis has been endemic to Jersey Zoo since 1979 and is responsible for significant animal loss in the Callithrichidae/Callimiconidae group. Mortality due to Y. pseudotuberculosis was seasonal; a high percentage of deaths occurred during wet and cold seasons. No significant difference was found in mortality rates of vaccinated versus nonvaccinated animals. Although the efficacy of vaccination has not been confirmed, we believe that an improved vaccination program could be an important tool in controlling outbreaks of infection in marmosets and tamarins.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Impact of abomasal nematodes on roe deer and chamois body condition in an alpine environment.

Abomasal helminths were examined from 101 roe deer and 43 chamois, shot or found-dead, in the period July-November 1993-95, in the Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino (Italian Eastern Alps). Twelve helminth species were observed in both roe deer and chamois. For both host species, discriminant analysis, using the abundance of each parasite species in the hosts, failed to distinguish between subjects from each of the three study years. For 44 roe deer and 27 chamois data on body weight, body length, foot length, withers height, thoracic circumference and kidney fat index were also available. Principal Component Analysis was performed on the biometrical data in order to group related variables into a few compound variables. In both host species it was possible to identify two principal components, with an explained variance > 80%: the first component, led by body length, was an expression of skeletal development and the second, led by kidney fat index, of nutritional status. Parasite abundance and richness appeared to be negatively correlated with the scores of both skeletal and nutritional Components in the two host species, although only the correlation between parasite abundance and the scores of the nutritional component in roe deer was statistically significant (Spearman r = -0.411; p < 0.05). These results support the susceptibility of roe deer to abomasal helminths, which could be important considering the spatial and nutritional interspecific competition between domestic and wild ruminants often recorded in alpine environments.

Abomasum↗