Occurrence of in Faeces, Livers and Carcasses of Wild Boars Hunted in Tuscany (Italy) and Evaluation of MALDI-TOF MS for the Identification of Species.

A total of 193 wild boars hunted in Tuscany, an Italian region with a high presence of wild ungulates, were examined to assess the occurrence of species in faeces, bile, liver and carcasses, with the aim of clarifying their contribution to human infection through the food chain. spp. were found in 44.56% of the animals, 42.62% of the faecal samples, 18.18% of the carcass samples, 4.81% of the liver tissues and 1.97% of the bile samples. The species genotypically identified were , , and . The prevalent species transpired to be and , which were isolated from all the matrices; was present in faeces and liver, while only in faeces. Identification was carried out by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) on 66 out of 100 isolates identified genotypically, and the technique yielded unsatisfactory results in the case of , which is responsible for sporadic human disease cases. The level of spp. contamination of meat and liver underlines the need to provide appropriate food safety information to hunters and consumers.