Scarazzato Annalisa, Righi Francesco, Sommariva Marco Pietro, Bertoletti Irene, Sala Giovanni, Paterlini Franco, Daminelli Paolo, Finazzi Guido, Losio Marina-Nadia, Pavoni Enrico
Department of Food Safety, Laboratory of Food Control, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy.
Istituto Zooprofilattico sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Bergamo, Italy.
Front Microbiol. 2024 Oct 9;15:1462645. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1462645. eCollection 2024.
Over the last few decades, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has become a growing public health problem in Europe. The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic virus that affects the central nervous system (CNS). TBEV has been detected in 27 European countries, and the rise in TBE cases is mainly due to environmental and ecological factors, and factors that increase the risk of human exposure to infected ticks. The infection via the alimentary route is the second most common means of TBEV transmission to humans. Raw milk from infected goats, sheep, or cows has been identified as a source of human food-borne infections. This study aims to gather new information on the prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in raw goat's and cow's milk and related raw products in the Lombard Alps (Italy). This is important due to the close proximity of Lombardy to the Triveneto region, where TBE is endemic, and southern Switzerland, where numerous TBEV-positive mammals have been found. Throughout 2023, a passive monitoring plan was implemented on samples delivered for TBEV analyses from the Alpine pastures. In total, 248 specimens including raw milk, raw milk cheese, and butter were tested. This is the first monitoring of food at risk of TBEV transmission in a non-endemic region with evidence of TBEV circulation. Despite testing a wide range of dairy products, no sample tested positive for RNA-TBEV by real-time RT-PCR. Preliminary results suggest that raw milk and raw dairy products do not pose a significant risk of TBEV transmission to humans in the territory of Lombardy.
在过去几十年中，蜱传脑炎（TBE）已成为欧洲日益严重的公共卫生问题。蜱传脑炎病毒（TBEV）是一种影响中枢神经系统（CNS）的人畜共患病毒。在27个欧洲国家检测到了TBEV，TBE病例的增加主要归因于环境和生态因素，以及增加人类接触受感染蜱风险的因素。经消化道途径感染是TBEV传播给人类的第二常见方式。来自受感染山羊、绵羊或奶牛的生奶已被确定为人类食源性感染的一个来源。本研究旨在收集有关意大利伦巴第阿尔卑斯山区生山羊奶和牛奶以及相关生鲜产品中蜱传脑炎病毒（TBEV）流行情况的新信息。这一点很重要，因为伦巴第与TBE流行的特里维内托地区以及发现大量TBEV阳性哺乳动物的瑞士南部地区距离很近。在2023年全年，针对从高山牧场送来进行TBEV分析的样本实施了一项被动监测计划。总共检测了248个样本，包括生奶、生奶奶酪和黄油。这是在有TBEV传播证据的非流行地区首次对有TBEV传播风险的食品进行监测。尽管检测了多种乳制品，但通过实时RT-PCR检测，没有一个样本的RNA-TBEV呈阳性。初步结果表明，在伦巴第地区，生奶和生鲜乳制品不会对人类构成TBEV传播的重大风险。
