Environmental Exposure of Wild Carnivores to Zoonotic Pathogens: Leptospira Infection in the First Free Living Wolf ( Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) Found Dead in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region

Marco Bregoli, Stefano Pesaro, Martina Ustulin, Denis Vio, Paola Beraldo, Marco Galeotti, Monia Cocchi, Laura Lucchese, Cristina Bertasio, Maria Beatrice Boniotti, Luca Lapini and Alda Natale
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Marco Bregoli: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Stefano Pesaro: Dipartimento di Scienze AgroAlimentari, Ambientali e Animali Sezione di Patologia Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Udine, Via Sondrio, 33100 Udine, Italy
Martina Ustulin: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Denis Vio: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Paola Beraldo: Dipartimento di Scienze AgroAlimentari, Ambientali e Animali Sezione di Patologia Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Udine, Via Sondrio, 33100 Udine, Italy
Marco Galeotti: Dipartimento di Scienze AgroAlimentari, Ambientali e Animali Sezione di Patologia Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Udine, Via Sondrio, 33100 Udine, Italy
Monia Cocchi: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Laura Lucchese: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Cristina Bertasio: National Reference Centre for Animal Leptospirosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, 25121 Brescia, Italy
Maria Beatrice Boniotti: National Reference Centre for Animal Leptospirosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, 25121 Brescia, Italy
Luca Lapini: Zoology Section of the Friulian Natural History Museum, Via C. Gradenigo Sabbadini, 33100 Udine, Italy
Alda Natale: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-7

Abstract: Leptospirosis is a worldwide-spread zoonosis causing disease and death in dogs and in humans. A Leptospiral infection has been recorded in several wild carnivore species in Europe, but tissue pathological changes were not commonly described. The Grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) has been expanding its distribution range in north-eastern Italy during the last decade. A young wolf, representing the first individual handled in the region, was found road-killed and then submitted to necropsy. Pathological changes included erosive lesions of gingival mucosa, mild liver enlargement, and multifocal degenerative-necrotic areas along with hyperemic reactive lesions; multifocal interstitial nephritis and multifocal lung hemorrhages were observed. A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) able to detect pathogenic species of Leptospira performed on a kidney sample was positive. Serological reactions for serogroup Gryppotyphosa (1:6400), Pomona (1:800), and Icterohaemorrhagiae (1:200) were evidenced by MAT. Genotyping by Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) performed on detected Leptospira characterized it as belonging to Sequence Type (ST) 117, which refers to L. kirschneri , serogroup Pomona, serovar Mozdok. Regardless of the role of Leptospira infection as an eventual predisposing factor to the road killing of this wolf, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of Leptospira -induced pathology in a wolf in Europe. Surveys on Leptospira infection in free-ranging wildlife species should be pursued in order to achieve further epidemiological knowledge on the circulation of the Leptospira strain.

Keywords: Leptospira; Canis lupus; zoonosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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