INFEZIONI ZOONOSICHE NEGLI ANIMALI DA COMPAGNIA IN ITALIA MERIDIONALE

In recent years, 70% of the emerging diseases in humans have risen from animals and some of the most important zoonotic infections have been transmitted from companion animals. Unfortunately, this occurrence is poorly known by the 85% of owners, therefore a major effort should be done from the physicians and veterinarians to raise awareness of the hazards related to the close coexistence between humans and animals, especially in endemic areas. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the epidemiological situation of some zoonotic pathogens in specimens collected in the last 5 years from dogs and cats living in Southern Italy, to test an alternative serological method for the diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii in companion animals and to evaluate exposure of Vector Borne Pathogens in shelter dogs with clinical suspect of Leishmaniosis. At the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia laboratories, serological and molecular methods were carried out for the diagnosis of Leishmania infantum, Rickettsia conorii, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Coxiella burnetii infection on canine and feline population living in Southern Italy. In addition, some feline sera have been also tested for the detection of antibodies against Leptospira spp., although no positive results were found. Serological data confirmed the circulation of L. infantum, R. conorii, E. canis, A. phagocytophilum and C. burnetii pathogens on both canine and feline specimens, however only DNA of L. infantum and E. canis were quite frequently amplified in dogs and L. infantum in cats. Furthermore, antibodies seem to persist for long periods, so diagnosis must use other tools to be confirmed. In agreement with data reported in literature, this study confirms the presence of some zoonotic pathogens in companion animals, mostly vector borne agents. Therefore, an increased monitoring on neglected microorganisms in dogs and cats such as Coxiella burnetii could be interesting in order to understand the persistence endemicity. In order to limit the spread of this Vector Borne Diseases, antiparasitary treatments should be used in endemic areas during the whole year. Finally, preventing zoonotic infections requires an integrated multidisciplinary 'One Health' approach involving collaboration among various professional roles.