Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan disease and has a broad range of hosts, including humans and several wild and domestic animals. The human infection is mostly acquired through the consumption of contaminated food and pork meat has been recognized as one of the major sources of transmission. There are, however, certain fundamental differences between countries; therefore, the present study specifically aims to evaluate the exposure of the Italian population toToxoplasma gondiithrough the ingestion of several types of pork meat products habitually consumed in Italy and to estimate the annual number of human infections within two subgroups of the population. A quantitative risk assessment model was built for this reason and was enriched with new elements in comparison to other similar risk assessments in order to enhance its accuracy. Sensitivity analysis and two alternative scenarios were implemented to identify the factors that have the highest impact on risk and to simulate different plausible conditions, respectively. The estimated overall average number of new infections per year among adults is 12,513 and 92 for pregnant women. The baseline model showed that almost all these infections are associated with the consumption of fresh meat cuts and preparations (mean risk of infection varied between 4.5 × 10⁻⁵and 5.5 × 10⁻⁵) and only a small percentage is due to fermented sausages/salami. On the contrary, salt‐cured meat products seem to pose minor risk but further investigations are needed to clarify still unclear aspects. Among all the considered variables, cooking temperature and bradyzoites’ concentration in muscle impacted most the risk.

In recent years, the incidence of foodborne diseases caused by shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has increased globally. For this reason, within the specific regional control plan for the detection of STEC in food products in Italy, the presence of STEC in unpasteurized milk cheeses was investigated. In total 203 samples obtained from March 2011 to December 2013 were analysed, with two standard methods (ISO 16654:2001 and ISO 13136:2012). Two strains of E. coli O157 were isolated (2/161, 1.2%) but did not carry any virulence-associated genes and 22 stx-positive samples (22/146, 15.1%) were detected in enrichment cultures, mostly from ovine cheeses. Only two strains isolated from different ovine cheeses carried stx gene and none of these was eae-positive. This study confirms the presence of stx-positive E. coli and suggests that this type of food cannot be excluded as a potential vehicle of STEC.

Human campylobacteriosis remains the most commonly reported gastrointestinal disease in Europe and C. jejuni and C. coli are the two species most frequently involved in such foodborne disease. Based on the sampling plan established in the region of Lazio (Central Italy) the aim of our work was to investigate the occurrence of Campylobacter spp in poultry meat preparations collected by the local veterinary authority at retail shops and processing plants. We also observed whether various factors such as animal species or type of product affected the isolation rate. Occurrence was significantly lower than previous surveys (12/209, 5.7%) and chicken meat was more contaminated than turkey meat.

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana (IZSLT) and the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations (Apimondia) set up a worldwide survey in 2015–2017 to gather information on beekeepers’ perceptions concerning good beekeeping practices, the main honey bee diseases, and the technical assistance they receive. The on-line dissemination of the survey was facilitated by the “Technologies and Practices for Small Agricultural Producers” platform (TECA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In total, 248 questionnaires were received from the European region and the results are reported here. Varroosis remains the biggest concern and is the most important reason for beekeepers’ use of veterinary medicines. However, a sustainable approach to managing Varroa was detected. American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB) infections are mainly managed through the shook swarm technique or burning the hives. Concerning technical assistance for disease management, beekeepers were mainly supported by their associations or expert beekeepers. Relevant data were collected and analyzed but information from many low-income countries in Africa or Asia is still missing, and more efforts are needed to fill the knowledge gaps.

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a carnivore native to North and Central America, gradually introduced into Asia and Europe, including Italy. It is an important carrier of multiple endoparasites, both Protozoa and Helminths, some of them being zoonotic. The aim of this study was to investigate the endoparasites of the non-native raccoon population of Central Italy. Sixty-two raccoons were collected by local competent authorities (sixty trapped and euthanized, two found dead) and subjected to necroscopic examination. Carcasses underwent a broad parasitological investigation, including coprological techniques (macroscopic examination of the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, trachea, and heart, Flotac^®, Baermann test, and immunofluorescence for Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp.), research on respiratory/urinary capillariosis and artificial digestion for Trichinella spp. larvae, and a histopathological examination of the ileum. Ascarid parasites were further identified at the species level using a next-generation sequencing-based amplicon sequencing approach. The results showed the presence of different Protozoa and Nematodes: Baylisascaris procyonis (26/62; 41.9%), Pearsonema sp. (6/62; 9.6%), Capillariidae (6/62; 9.6%), Eimeria sp. (2/62; 3.2%), Cryptosporidium sp. (2/62; 3.2%), and Ancylostomatidae (2/62; 3.2%). B. procyonis is an emerging helminthic zoonotic agent considered a serious concern for public and animal health, given the possibility of its transmission to paratenic hosts, including humans and pets. The demonstrated role of the raccoon as a multi-parasite carrier should be an incentive to continuing the eradication/control of this alien species, and supports the need to implement related disease surveillance programs.

Staphylococcus aureus is well known to be the primary causal agent of clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy sheep. The production of virulence factors allows S. aureus strains to cause mastitis. In the present study, 96 strains isolated from dairy sheep farms used for the production of autologous vaccines were tested for enterotoxin and hemolysin genes by PCR. In addition, 14 strains isolated from half udders of ewes with subclinical mastitis belonging to a single farm were also tested for the same genes. The phylogenetic trees were constructed, and spatial analysis was performed. Overall, 20 gene patterns were identified, but 43.64% of the tested strains showed the same profile (sec+, sel+, hla+, hld+, hlgAC+). Considering only the enterotoxin genes, four profiles were identified while the evaluation of the hemolysin genes revealed the presence of 12 gene patterns. In the farm with subclinical mastitis, six gene profiles were found. Spatial analysis of the isolated strains and their virulence genes did not show a specific pattern. The present study highlights the importance of identifying and analyzing virulence genes of S. aureus strains involved in dairy sheep mastitis, and the presence of different strains in the same farm.