Sorghum plants naturally produce dhurrin, a cyanogenic glycoside that may be hydrolysed to cyanide, resulting in often-lethal toxicoses. Ruminants are particularly sensitive to cyanogenic glycosides due to the active role of rumen microbiota in dhurrin hydrolysis. This work provides an overview of a poisoning outbreak that occurred in 5 farms in Northwest Italy in August 2022; a total of 66 cows died, and many others developed acute toxicosis after being fed on either cultivated (Sorghum bicolor) or wild Sorghum (Sorghum halepense). Clinical signs were recorded, and all cows received antidotal/supportive therapy. Dead animals were subjected to necropsy, and dhurrin content was determined in Sorghum specimens using an LC–MS/MS method. Rapid onset, severe respiratory distress, recumbency and convulsions were the main clinical features; bright red blood, a bitter almond smell and lung emphysema were consistently observed on necropsy. The combined i.v. and oral administration of sodium thiosulphate resulted in a rapid improvement of clinical signs. Dhurrin concentrations corresponding to cyanide levels higher than the tolerated threshold of 200 mg/kg were detected in sorghum specimens from 4 out of 5 involved farms; thereafter, such levels declined, reaching tolerable concentrations in September–October. Feeding cattle with wild or cultivated Sorghum as green fodder is a common practice in Northern Italy, especially in summer. However, care should be taken in case of adverse climatic conditions, such as severe drought and tropical temperatures (characterising summer 2022), which are reported to increase dhurrin synthesis and storage.

Reptiles are usually asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella, with the manifestation of typical clinical signs of acute forms in adult and non-immunocompromised animals being considered exceptions. In the present case, an adult male corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) was found dead due to septic shock 48 h after consuming a feeder mouse purchased online. The snake’s tissue samples and faeces were cultured for bacteria isolation. Microbiological examinations of the snake and mouse livers revealed the presence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Midway. A whole-genome analysis of these two isolates showed a high correlation between them: they belonged to the strain type ST-357 for the classic MLST scheme and to the strain type ST 171322 for the cgMLST scheme. Also, a virulence gene analysis revealed the presence of stdB and STM3026 genes. This report conveys a case of food-borne salmonellosis in a pet snake, transmitted from a feeder mouse, likely responsible for the snake’s death due to septic shock. It highlights the relevance of feeder mice as a source of Salmonella infections in snakes and the associated risks to human health.

Swinepox virus (SWPV) is responsible for sporadic acute poxvirus infections in swine worldwide, causing a pathognomonic eruptive proliferative dermatitis. Beside direct and congenital transmission, the pig louse Haematopinus suis acts as a mechanical vector and favors virus infection through skin lesions. Infections are generally described in domestic pigs, while only a few cases have been reported in wild boars, in Austria and Germany. In September 2022, SWPV infection was suspected at post-mortem examination of a wild boar piglet with characteristic lesions in Liguria, Northwest Italy. The piglet was heavily parasitized by swine lice (H. suis). SWPV was then confirmed by histological and molecular analyses. Possible viral co-infections were also investigated (African swine fever virus, classical swine fever virus, parvovirus, circovirus, Aujeszky’s disease virus and hepatitis E virus). This article describes gross and histopathologic features of SWPV infection, differential diagnosis, and potential vector-borne transmission to domestic pigs, presenting a brief review of the literature on the topic. SWPV infection is reported in wild boars in Italy for the first time. The finding of SWPV in a wild boar in an area with a very limited pig population may suggest the existence of a “wildlife cycle” in the area. Further investigations are needed to understand the real risk of transmission of SWPV to domestic pigs as well as the role of other arthropod vectors.

Sorghum plants naturally produce dhurrin, a cyanogenic glycoside which may be hydrolysed to cyanide resulting in often lethal toxicoses. Ruminants are particularly sensitive to cyanogenic glycosides due to the active role of rumen microbiota in dhurrin hydrolysis. This work provides an overview of a poisoning outbreak occurred in 5 farms from North-West Italy in August 2022; a total of 66 cows died, and many others developed an acute toxicosis after being fed on either cultivated- (Sorghum bicolor) or wild Sorghum (Sorghum halepense). Clinical signs were recorded, and all cows received an antidotal/supportive therapy. Dead animals were subjected to necropsy and dhurrin content was determined in Sorghum specimens by a LC-MS/MS method. Rapid onset, severe respiratory distress, recumbency and convulsions were the main clinical features; bright red blood, bitter almond smell and lung emphysema were consistently observed at necropsy. The combined i.v. and oral administration of sodium thiosulphate resulted in a rapid improvement of clinical signs. Dhurrin concentrations corresponding to cyanide levels higher than the tolerated threshold of 200 mg/kg were detected in sorghum specimens from 4 out 5 involved farms; thereafter, such levels declined reaching tolerable concentrations in September-October. Feeding cattle with wild or cultivated Sorghum green fodder is a common practice in Northern Italy, especially in summer. However, care should be taken in case of adverse climatic conditions, such as severe drought and tropical temperatures (characterising summer 2022), which are reported to increase dhurrin synthesis and storage.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in dogs is uncommon and often associated with a good prognosis, although some cases prove to be aggressive. In human oncology HCC is often very aggressive and diagnostic methods and prognostic factors are widely used to predict its biological behaviour. These include the expression of PIVKA-II. Methods: in order to identify a prognostic factor for canine HCC, we applied different methods of histological grading and investigated PIVKA-II expression in 22 HCC of dogs treated surgically and followed clinically for at least 2 years. Results: Nineteen patients analysed have passed the observation period without tumour recurrence, while 3 died following the development of metastases. PIVKA-II was positive in 15/22 cases without correlation with prognosis or tumoural grading even if a trend of PIVKA-II negativity in low WHO grades as well as increased number of PIVKA-II positive cases in higher WHO grades weres observed. Conclusions: This work showed that, PIVKA-II cannot be considered either as a marker of malignancy or as a prognostic marker for canine HCC. The poor prognosis depends usually on the clinical presentation. Thus prognostic parameters in canine HCC able to predict its aggressive behaviour through histological examination are still missing. The most promising method, limited to our study, seems to be the WHO histological grading.