Viani Annalisa, Orusa Tommaso, Divari Sara, Lovisolo Stella, Zanet Stefania, Orusa Riccardo, Borgogno-Mondino Enrico, Bollo Enrico
Azienda USL della Valle d'Aosta, S.C. Sanità Animale, Quart, Italy.
GEO4Agri DISAFA Laboratory, Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jan 21;11:1388440. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1388440. eCollection 2024.
is a genus of bacteria known to cause various rare but potentially dangerous diseases in humans and wildlife. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of spp. in red foxes () from Piedmont and Aosta Valley (NW Italy) and to explore the potential association between environmental humidity and infection using remote sensing data. A total of 114 spleen samples were collected from hunted red foxes and screened for spp. DNA using a qPCR assay targeting the locus. Samples that tested positive were further analyzed using end-point PCR to detect the , and loci. The overall prevalence of spp. infection was found to be 7.9% (9/114), with a prevalence of 6.9% (7/101) in foxes from Piedmont and 15.4% (2/13) in foxes from Aosta Valley. Sequencing results identified R1 as the most commonly isolated species (5/9, 62.5%), followed by Candidatus "" in two samples (2/9, 28.6%). To investigate the relationship between environmental factors and infection, data from NASA USGS Landsat missions (TOA collection) from 2011 to 2022 were processed using Google Earth Engine. The Tasseled Cap Wetness Index (TCW), an indicator of landscape moisture, was calculated for each meteorological season. The study found that spp. infections in foxes were positively associated with higher TCW values (>0.7). Canonical Correspondence Analysis further demonstrated a strong link between pathogen prevalence and municipal-level TCW, suggesting that TCW could be used as a parameter to facilitate disease management and control. This study provides a starting point for a more comprehensive epidemiological assessment of spp. on a national scale and highlights the potential role of environmental humidity in influencing pathogen distribution.
是一种已知会在人类和野生动物中引发各种罕见但可能危险疾病的细菌属。本研究的目的是调查意大利西北部皮埃蒙特和奥斯塔山谷的赤狐（）中 属细菌的存在情况，并利用遥感数据探索环境湿度与 感染之间的潜在关联。从猎杀的赤狐中总共采集了114份脾脏样本，并使用针对 基因座的qPCR检测法筛查 属细菌的DNA。检测呈阳性的样本进一步使用终点PCR进行分析，以检测 、 和 基因座。发现 属细菌感染的总体患病率为7.9%（9/114），皮埃蒙特的狐狸患病率为6.9%（7/），奥斯塔山谷的狐狸患病率为15.4%（2/13）。测序结果确定 R1是最常分离出的物种（5/9，62.5%），其次是两个样本中的候选“”（2/9，28.6%）。为了研究环境因素与 感染之间的关系，使用谷歌地球引擎处理了2011年至2022年美国国家航空航天局美国地质调查局陆地卫星任务（地表反射率数据集）的数据。计算了每个气象季节的缨帽湿度指数（TCW），这是景观湿度的一个指标。研究发现，狐狸中的 属细菌感染与较高的TCW值（>0.7）呈正相关。典范对应分析进一步证明了病原体患病率与市级TCW之间的紧密联系，表明TCW可作为一个参数来促进疾病的管理和控制。本研究为在全国范围内对 属细菌进行更全面的流行病学评估提供了一个起点，并突出了环境湿度在影响病原体分布方面的潜在作用。
