Growth performance, blood profiles and carcass traits of Barbary partridge (Alectoris barbara) fed two different insect larvae meals (Tenebrio molitor and Hermetia illucens).

To investigate the effect of two insect meals (from Hermetia illucens, HI and Tenebrio molitor, TM larvae) on productive performance and blood profiles of Barbary partridge, ninety, seven days old partridges were divided into 5 groups (6 replicates, 3 partridges/replicate). Up to 64d, the groups fed 5 isoproteic and isoenergetic diets: the control fed a corn-soybean meal diet (SBM group); in TM25 and TM50 groups the 25 and 50% of SBM proteins were substituted by the protein from TM, respectively; in HI25 and HI50 groups the 25 and 50% of SBM were substituted by the protein from HI, respectively. The birds fed TM25 and both the HI levels reached a higher (P<0.01) live weight at 64d than the control. Considering the entire experimental period the TM groups had a more favorable FCR than SBM. The carcass weights of all the insect groups were higher (P<0.01) than the control. The weight of the full digestive tract in SBM group was the highest (P<0.01). The caecal weight, the intestinal and caecal length were the highest (P<0.01) in the SBM group. The SBM group the highest value of albumin/globulin (P<0.01) and creatinine (P<0.05). TM seems to be more effective than HI in improving FCR. The reduced albumin/globulin ratio in the insect meal fed groups could be ascribed to the chitin content and this result was not affected by the amount of chitin intake, suggesting that also the lowest values are able to express their potential effects in partridges.

An update on microbiological causes of canine otitis externa in Campania Region, Italy

Objective: To update the recent knowledge of the microbiological causes of canine otitis externa in Campania Region (Italy) and the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the iso-lated strains. Methods: A total of 122 dogs were examined by otoscopy, and auricular swab samples were collected from both ears in 74 dogs presenting clinical bilateral otitis and from single ears in 48 dogs displaying clinical unilateral otitis. Cytological examination, bacteriological analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed. Results: Thirty-one out of 122 dogs were positive for yeast species (25.4%, 95% con-fidence interval (CI): 18.2%–34.2%) with a higher prevalence of Malassezia pachy-dermatis (21/31 isolates, 67.7%, CI: 48.5%–82.7%), and a total of 91 out of 122 dogs were positive for bacterial species (74.6%;CI:65.8%–81.8%) with a higher prevalence of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (45/143 isolates, 31.5%, CI: 24.1%–39.8%). These results are the first description of Streptococcus agalactiae-associated otitis. The yeasts isolated showed high levels of susceptibility to all antifungal agents tested; on the con-trary all the isolated bacterial strains were highly resistant to at least four out of ten antimicrobial classes. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria showed high resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanate and kanamycin hence they are not recommended as initial empirical therapy for the otitis treatment. Conclusions: This update illustrates an increase in antibiotic resistances providing an insight into the current knowledge of the therapeutic procedures followed on canine otitis externa in Italy. It also emphasizes the importance of considering the results of the microbiological and sensitivity tests to decide on an appropriate antibiotic therapy.

In vitro growth versus inhibition of growth of Malassezia pachydermatis in the presence of the antibacterial drug gentamicin.

Malassezia pachydermatis is part of the normal cutaneous microbiota of most warm-blooded vertebrates and is associated with otitis externa and seborrhoeic dermatitis in dogs and cats. In this study, we evaluated the growth capacity of nine M. pachydermatis strains on Sabouraud medium in the presence of a high concentration of gentamicin. Strains of M. pachydermatis cultured on Sabouraud medium in the presence of 50 and 100 µg gentamicin ml(-1) displayed different growth patterns such as growth or lack of growth. We hypothesized that this difference in growth of M. pachydermatis strains was correlated with the different genotypes of the strains. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was applied for genetic typing of M. pachydermatis isolates, derived from the external ears of house pet cats suffering from otitis externa. The M. pachydermatis strains were cultured on commercial or home-made Sabouraud medium supplemented or not with gentamicin. RAPD analysis demonstrated a genetic heterogeneity between each strain. In particular, five out of nine strains tested were able to form colonies in the presence of gentamicin. However, a correlation between M. pachydermatis genotype and growth capacity in the presence of gentamicin was not widely demonstrated.

Conjunctival cytological examination, bacteriological culture, and antimicrobial resistance proifles of healthy Mediterranean buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) from Southern Italy

Objective:To assess normal conjunctival cytological and bacteriological/fungal flora features in the Mediterranean buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Methods:Swabs were taken from the inferior conjunctival sac of both eyes of 57 healthy female buffaloes aged 24-36 months, with no evidence of ocular disease, farmed in Campania region (Southern Italy), for microbiological analysis. Conjunctival eye specimens of both eyes were subsequently obtained by a cyto-brush, for cytological analysis. The antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates was also determined using the disk-diffusion method on Mueller Hinton agar plates. Results: Cytological examination of conjunctival swab specimens (114 eyes) revealed epithelial cells (basal, intermediate, columnar and superficial) in all samples, whereas neutrophils, lymphocytes and plasma cells were present in 70%, 10%and 2%of samples, respectively. Microorganisms, for a total of 261 aerobic bacteria and 6 fungi, were isolated from 112/114 conjunctival samples (98.25%;95%confidence interval (CI):93.18–99.70). Only two conjunctival swabs did not yield bacteria and/or fungi (2/114, 1.75%;95% CI:0.30–6.82). Gram-positive aerobes were most commonly cultured (181/261, 69.35%;95%CI: 63.31–74.81), with Enterococcus faecium and Staphylococcus lentus predominating. Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated as Gram-negative bacteria (80/261, 30.65%;95%CI:25.19–36.69). The antimicrobial resistance patterns of the isolated bacteria showed amoxycillin/clavulanic acid and cephalothin as the least sensitive antibiotics for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusions: These results provided first information on normal conjunctival ocular microflora and cytological features in Mediterranean buffalo.

Bovine herpesvirus type 1 marker vaccine induces cross-protection against bubaline herpesvirus type 1 in water buffalo.

Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are susceptible to bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) and a species-specific herpesvirus, bubaline herpesvirus type 1 (BuHV-1). In this study, an attenuated marker BoHV-1 based vaccine against BuHV-1 challenge was evaluated to determine whether it induces protection from viral replication. One group of water buffalo calves was immunized with an attenuated BoHV-1 marker vaccine. A second group was not vaccinated and used as the control. During the post-vaccination period, we monitored the humoral immune response. The efficacy of the vaccine was tested after intranasal challenge of the calves with a BuHV-1 strain. The experiment showed that after vaccination, BuHV-1 replication was significantly reduced by approximately three titer points compared to the controls. The control animals showed high levels of viral shedding and mild signs associated with BuHV-1 infection. Therefore, our study provides evidence for the existence of cross-protection between BoHV-1 and BuHV-1 in buffalo calves.

Fecal microbiota and antibiotic resistance in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) from two captive breeding facilities in Italy.

The microbiota of the intestinal tract plays important roles in the overall health, productivity and well-being of the animals. We have characterized the intestinal microbiota of the ferret because its human cohabitation may increase the possibility of new zoonosis. The presence of anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria has been evaluated in fresh fecal specimens of 40 ferrets in apparently good health. The bacteria most frequently isolated were Clostridium acetobutylicum (25/40 samples, 62.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 45.81-76.83%) and Helicobacter spp. (16/40 samples, 40.0%; 95% CI: 25.28-56.61%), as anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria, respectively. The Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method showed penicillin, streptomycin and vancomycin resistances in high percentages (>80%) of the bacterial isolates, both in anaerobic and microaerophilic groups. Furthermore, the microaerophilic-bacteria group exhibited a significantly higher antibiotic-resistance profile compared to that of anaerobic-bacteria group. The presence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in the microbiota of the ferret gastrointestinal tract is a great concern for public health.

A comparative evaluation of methicillin-resistant staphylococci isolated from harness racing-horses, breeding mares and riding-horses in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) which is a potencial risk factor of transmission between animals and humans in different types of horses (harness racing-horses, breeding mares and riding-horses) and to compare the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. METHODS: A total of 191 healthy horses, housed at different locations of the Campania Region (Italy), were included in the study. Nasal swab samples were collected from each nostril of the horses. The mecA gene was detected by a nested PCR technique. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested for each isolate. RESULTS: MRS was isolated from nasal samples of 68/191 (35.6%; 95% CI: 28.9%-42.9%) healthy horses. All isolates were coagulase-negative with the exception of two coagulase-positive MRS strains, identified as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, 2/83 (2.4%; 95% CI: 0.4%-9.2%). Interestingly, both coagulase-positive MRS isolates were from harness racing-horses. These horses also presented a significantly higher positivity for MRS (53.3%; 95% CI: 40.1%-66.1%) than the breeding mares and riding-horses groups. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed difference between isolates due to different origins except for an almost common high resistance to aminopenicillins, such as ampicillin and amoxicillin. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that harness racing-horses may act as a significant reservoir of MRS as compared to breeding mares and riding-horses.

Innate immune response in human keratinocytes infected by a feline isolate of Malassezia pachydermatis.

Malassezia pachydermatis is a normal inhabitant of canine and feline skin that can spread to other pets. The outer layer or epidermis is made up primarily of keratinocytes, which are capable of releasing various factors and expressing receptors that are significantly involved in the immune regulation. Little is known about the mechanism by which M. pachydermatis overcomes the natural barrier of the skin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct in vitro interaction between human keratinocytes and a clinical strain of live M. pachydermatis isolated as a pure culture from an otitic cat. Human keratinocytes (HaCat) were infected with M. pachydermatis to analyse the modulation of the innate immune response. Gene expression was analysed by real-time PCR. We demonstrated that M. pachydermatis invaded HaCat cells and modulated the expression of TLR2 after 24h infection, while HBD-2, IL-1ß TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were modulated both at 24 and 48 h. Thus, our results demonstrated that M. pachydermatis is able to stimulate the innate immune response in infected human keratinocytes indicating a possible role of this yeast as a human opportunistic pathogen.

A comparative evaluation of methicillin-resistant staphylococci isolated from harness racing-horses, breeding mares and riding-horses in Italy

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) which is a potencial risk factor of transmission between animals and humans in different types of horses (harness racing-horses, breeding mares and riding-horses) and to compare the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. Methods:A total of 191 healthy horses, housed at different locations of the Campania Region (Italy), were included in the study. Nasal swab samples were collected from each nostril of the horses. The mecA gene was detected by a nested PCR technique. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested for each isolate. Results: MRS was isolated from nasal samples of 68/191 (35.6%; 95% CI: 28.9%-42.9%) healthy horses. All isolates were coagulase-negative with the exception of two coagulase-positive MRS strains, identified as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, 2/83 (2.4%; 95%CI: 0.4%-9.2%). Interestingly, both coagulase-positive MRS isolates were from harness racing-horses. These horses also presented a significantly higher positivity for MRS (53.3%; 95%CI: 40.1%-66.1%) than the breeding mares and riding-horses groups. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed difference between isolates due to different origins except for an almost common high resistance to aminopenicillins, such as ampicillin and amoxicillin. Conclusions:It can be concluded that harness racing-horses may act as a significant reservoir of MRS as compared to breeding mares and riding-horses.

Streptococcus constellatus-associated pyoderma in a dog.

This report describes a case of chronic and deep pyodermitis in a 4-year-old male dog with a 3-month skin problems history that had been treated unsuccessfully with fluoroquinolone therapy, prescribed by a private medical veterinary practice, without an early diagnosis. Microbiological examination and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed in our laboratory (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and a diagnosis of Streptococcus constellatus-associated pyoderma in the dog was made. A new antimicrobial treatment, with tetracyclines, was designed after the definitive diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing performed by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The dog remained free of clinical illness at completion of therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a canine pyoderma caused by S. constellatus, a commensal organism which may also cause pyogenic infections. Furthermore, this study confirms that a fluoroquinolone represents a poor empirical choice for initial therapy of canine pyoderma.