Neonatal calf diarrhea is generally caused by infectious agents and is a very common disease in bovine practice, leading to substantial economic losses. Tannins are known for their astringent and anti-inflammatory properties in the gastro-enteric tract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the oral administration of chestnut tannins (Castanea sativa Mill.) in order to reduce the duration of calf neonatal diarrhea. Twenty-four Italian Friesian calves affected by neonatal diarrhea were included. The duration of the diarrheic episode (DDE) was recorded and the animals were divided into a control group (C), which received Effydral® in 2 l of warm water, and a tannin-treated group (T), which received Effydral® in 2 l of warm water plus 10 g of extract of chestnut tannins powder. A Mann-Whitney test was performed to verify differences for the DDE values between the two groups. The DDE was significantly higher in group C than in group T (p = 0.02), resulting in 10.1 ± 3.2 and 6.6 ± 3.8 days, respectively. Phytotherapic treatments for various diseases have become more common both in human and in veterinary medicine, in order to reduce the presence of antibiotic molecules in the food chain and in the environment. Administration of tannins in calves with diarrhea seemed to shorten the DDE in T by almost 4 days compared to C, suggesting an effective astringent action of chestnut tannins in the calf, as already reported in humans. The use of chestnut tannins in calves could represent an effective, low-impact treatment for neonatal diarrhea.

Wild boar are among the most widespread wild mammals in Europe. Although this species can act as a reservoir for different pathogens, data about its role as a carrier of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli are still scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant and pathogenic Escherichia coli in wild boar in the Tuscany region of Italy. During the hunting season of 2018–2019, E. coli was isolated from 175 of 200 animals and subjected to antimicrobial resistance tests and PCR for detection of resistance and virulence factor genes. The highest resistance rates were against cephalothin (94.3%), amoxicillin–clavulanic acid (87.4%), ampicillin (68.6%), and tetracycline (44.6%). The most detected resistance genes were bla_CMY-2 (54.3%), sul1 (38.9%), sul2 (30.9%), and tetG (24.6%). Concerning genes encoding virulence factors, 55 of 175 isolates (31.4%) were negative for all tested genes. The most detected genes were hlyA (47.4%), astA (29.1%), stx2 (24.6%), eaeA (17.1%), and stx1 (11.4%). E. coli was classified as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) (21.7%), enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) (6.3%), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) (5.1%), and atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (aEPEC) (3.4%). Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), and typical enteropathogenic E. coli (tEPEC) were not detected. Our results show that wild boars could carry pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant E. coli, representing a possible reservoir of domestic animal and human pathogens.

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the correlation between IgG Serum Radial Immunodiffusion (SRID), Electrophoresis Gamma Globulins (EGG), Electrophoresis Total Protein (ETP) and the serum total protein (TP) analyzed by refractometry and by a dry chemistry analyzer (Biuret) and to estimate serum IgG concentrations using serum TP. A total of 36 samples collected at four different times (birth, 6, 12, 24 h after birth) from nine Amiata donkey foals were evaluated with SRID, EGG, ETP, serum TP Biuret and refractometry. SRID IgG concentration increased significantly over time until T12. Serum TP analyzed with refractometry, electrophoresis and Biuret showed a statistically significant difference between T0 and T6 vs. T12 and T24. A good or strong correlation was found between different tests performed. Equations to quantify serum IgG were created and can be used for estimating the donkey foals’ serum IgG in the first day of life. Serum TP refractometry showed a high correlation with SRID IgG (0.91) which may be a particularly useful and economic instrument to estimate the transfer of immunity in donkey foals during the first day of life. Further studies evaluating a high number of animals are needed in order to set specific cut-off values.

Immunoglobulin type G (IgG) concentration both in jennies' colostrum and in serum of donkey foals are mostly unknown in the first 24 h after delivery. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the IgG concentrations of colostrum during the first 24 h of lactation of Amiata jennies, the absorption of colostrum and the weekly body weight gain of the donkey foals. IgG concentrations were assessed in the jennies' colostrum and in the serum of donkey foals. Colostrum was collected in 9 jennies ready after delivery, and at 6, 12, 24 h after foaling from both halves. Serum was collected at the same sampling times from 9 donkey foals. Donkey foals were weighted at birth and then weekly until the 28th days of life. Temporal changes of IgG concentrations in dam's colostrum and in donkey foal serum were analyzed by a linear regression model and a general linear model, respectively. Results showed that colostrum IgG concentration were similar between the left and the right half. Colostrum IgG concentrations decreased continuously throughout the time in all jennies by 0.0244 Log10 mg/mL per hour. Serum IgG concentrations in donkey foals at birth was significantly lower compared to other times. No correlation was found between the colostrum IgG concentrations and the average weekly body weight gain of the donkey foal. The pattern of colostrum IgG levels in jennies and serum IgG concentration in donkey foals seem to be similar to what reported for equine. However, the donkey foals seem to be less agammaglobulinemic at birth compared to the horse foal. The pattern and both serum and colostrum concentrations evaluated in the Amiata donkeys were slightly different from results reported in other donkey breeds, underlying the importance of setting references specific to breed.