Reducing antimicrobial use in dairy cattle requires practical methods to identify cows that need antimicrobial treatment at dry-off. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a classification model using on-farm indirect indicators as a first step toward identifying cows with intramammary infection (IMI) at dry-off. The study was conducted on a single commercial dairy farm and included 301 cows. Quarter milk samples were collected before dry-off and used as the reference method to define IMI. Cow-level predictors included somatic cell count (SCC) history, clinical mastitis history, parity, teat health score, and genetic values for SCC, which were combined in a multivariable logistic regression model internally validated using a 75/25 training-testing split. Overall, 1190 quarters were examined, and 129 cows were classified as infected with at least one major mammary pathogen at dry-off. The best-performing model included genetic value for SCC, linear score at selected test days, and clinical mastitis history, reaching an accuracy of 0.75 (0.64–0.84), a sensitivity of 0.80 (0.63–0.92), a specificity of 0.71 (0.55–0.84), and an AUC of 0.76 (0.65–0.87). These results suggest that combining indirect cow-level indicators may support treatment allocation at dry-off, although external validation across multiple herds is required.

Interfaces among humans, wildlife and domestic animals represent critical hotspots for the emergence and spread of infectious agents. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the golden jackal (Canis aureus) are expanding wild canid populations in Italy, whose increasing overlap with anthropized environments may facilitate pathogen transmission. This study investigated mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV), rotavirus A (RVA), canine coronavirus (CCoV), canine parvovirus (CPV2) and feline parvovirus (FPV) in wild canids from north-eastern Italy. The 101 carcasses (83 gray wolves and 18 golden jackals) obtained through passive wildlife surveillance were examined post-mortem. Tissue samples and swabs were screened using molecular assays, and positive samples were characterized and tested for virus isolation. MRV was detected in gray wolves (27.7%) and golden jackals (33.3%), representing the first report and successful isolation from both species. RVA prevalence was 60.2% in gray wolves and 61.1% in golden jackals. CCoV occurred exclusively in gray wolves (12.5%). CPV-2 was found in 10.8% of gray wolves and 35.3% of golden jackals, with FPV accounting for 66.7% of CPV-2-positive golden jackal samples. These findings provide valuable data on the circulation of MRV, RVA, CCoV, and CPV-2/FPV in free-ranging gray wolves and golden jackals and highlight the value of passive surveillance within a One Health framework overall.