Pig livestock was influenced by several global concerns that imposed a re-thinking of the farming... more Pig livestock was influenced by several global concerns that imposed a re-thinking of the farming system, which included the reduction in chemical dependency and the development of antimicrobial alternatives. Post-weaning diarrhea and enterotoxaemia caused by Escherichia coli, are serious threats that are responsible for the economic losses related to mortality, morbidity and stunted growth in weaning piglets. The aim of the study was to set up experimental conditions to simulate the simultaneous outbreak of post-weaning diarrhea and enterotoxaemia in weaned piglets, through verocytotoxic O138 Escherichia coli challenge, with a multidisciplinary approach. Eighteen piglets susceptible to F18 VTEC infection were selected by polymerase chain reaction for polymorphism on the fucosyltransferase 1 gene and randomly divided in two experimental groups, non-infected controls (C; n = 6) and infected ones (I; n = 12) and housed into individual pens at the same environmental conditions for 29 d...
Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most common causes of mortality in puppies worldwide. Prote... more Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most common causes of mortality in puppies worldwide. Protection against CPV infection is based on vaccination, but maternally-derived antibodies (MDA) can interfere with vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of an in-clinic ELISA test to assess the CPV MDA in unvaccinated puppies and CPV antibodies in bitches, comparing the results with the gold standard haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Serum samples of 136 unvaccinated puppies were tested, along with sera of 16 vaccinated bitches. Five unvaccinated puppies were retested after vaccination. Both assays showed that the 16 vaccinated bitches had protective antibody levels against CPV. Conversely, significant discrepancies were observed for the MDA titers in unvaccinated puppies. Protective MDA titers were observed in 91.9% puppies using HI and in 40.4% by the in-clinic ELISA test, and only the latter one showed a decrease of MDA titers and percentages of prote...
Core vaccinations and specific antibody titer evaluations are strongly recommended worldwide by a... more Core vaccinations and specific antibody titer evaluations are strongly recommended worldwide by all the vaccination guidelines. Virus neutralization (VN) is considered the gold standard for measuring antibody titer against canine distemper virus, but it is complex and time consuming, and the use of in-clinics tests would allow to obtain quicker results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement of the commercial in-clinics VacciCheck test compared to VN. A total of 106 canine sera were analyzed using both methods. The best agreement was obtained using a protective threshold of ≥1:32. VacciCheck showed 95.5% sensitivity, 87.2% specificity, and 92.5% accuracy. The Cohen’s kappa coefficient between methods was 0.84 (CI 95% 0.73 to 0.95), revealing an optimal agreement between the two methods (p = 0.0073). The evaluation of discordant results reveal that most samples had less than 1.5 dilution difference, and that usually did not affect the classification as protected or non-p...
Plasma transfusion has been empirically employed in the management of newborn calves with failure... more Plasma transfusion has been empirically employed in the management of newborn calves with failure of passive transfer (FPT i.e. serum IgG concentration 21 of the 0:32 Brix refractometry scale) within 12 hours after birth [2]. PG calves received a dose of IgG from pooled plasma within 6 hours after birth. The IgG dose needed to obtain the minimum IgG serum level of 10 g/L in our calves has been determined by the following formula [3]: [(body weight x % blood volume) x (pretreatment serum IgG) + (Total IgG transfused)]/ (body weight x % blood volume) Plasma was collected from 20 healthy IBR free cows vaccinated against rotavirus, coronavirus and E. coli, selected from animals of the same herd with a high \u3b3-globulin rate. To obtain plasma, 4L of blood have been collected from each cow into sodium citrate transfusion packs and subsequently centrifuged. Plasma obtained was tested for IgG concentration by ELISA and than stored at -20 \ub0C until transfused. Serum IgG concentration before (T0) and after plasma transfusion or colostrum administration (1 day - T1, 3 days - T2, 7 days - T3) were determined by ELISA. Both groups were monitored by a daily clinical examination for a period of 3 week PG calves received a quantity of 52 \ub1 4,40 g of IgG in a volume of 2,23 \ub1 0,38 L of plasma. Four PG calves died for neonatal diarrhea complicated by E. coli septicemia at respectively 5, 11, 12, 16 days of age. On the other hand, none of the CG calves showed signs of disease or died during the study. Serum IgG concentration increased in both CG and PG calves. Mean concentration of IgG in all observation times, was higher in CG calves than PG calves (Fig.1). Altough all CG and PG calves showed an IgG value > 10g/L, the means between groups were statistically different at each observation (P<0.01) These results suggest that IV infusion of IgG is not a valid alternative to the administration of a good-quality colostrum, although both groups of animals reached an adequate quantity of serum IgG. Nevertheless, plasma trasfusion could represent an effective supportive therapy for FPT
International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2015
Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved molecules with immune functions such as complement acti... more Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved molecules with immune functions such as complement activation and opsonization. PTX3 is the prototypic long pentraxin and is produced by different cell populations after pro-inflammatory stimuli. Different studies have demonstrated the up-regulation of PTX3 during ruminant mastitis, but its role is still unknown. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of PTX3 in the immune response to S. aureus intra-mammary infection (IMI). Given that no data are available on PTX3 expression in goat tissues, we first studied its pattern of expression in goat normal tissues. Then we investigated the role of PTX3 during mammary infection, comparing its expression in healthy and infected blood, milk and tissues. Six healthy goats were infused with PBS in the right udder and with S. aureus in the left udder. Mammary biopsies from udders were collected 30h post infection, formalin fixed and routinely processed for microscopic evaluation or immediately ...
Background Vaccination plays an important role in feline healthcare as it is the most effective m... more Background Vaccination plays an important role in feline healthcare as it is the most effective measure for prevention against feline infectious diseases. Therefore, it is important to know owners’ opinion towards cats’ vaccination and current veterinary practices in order to advice owners on the use of the correct vaccination protocol. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of cats regularly vaccinated and identify the main factors motivating cat owners’ decisions related to vaccination in Italy. A questionnaire was disseminated online (mainly via social networks) to collect data regarding Italian cat owners’ demographics, information about cats, factors regarding cats’ vaccination, and veterinary-owner relationship. Results A total of 1264 owners participated in the survey and 1247 questionnaires were completed and statistically analyzed. The majority (91%; n = 1131) of cats were vaccinated and 80% (n = 998) had been vaccinated within the last 3 years. Age of 2–4 years old...
The canine eye is an immune-privileged organ that is provided with systems to prevent and control... more The canine eye is an immune-privileged organ that is provided with systems to prevent and control the local immune response, which could have a detrimental impact. The entry of blood-derived antigens is hindered by the blood-ocular barriers and potential invading pathogens are tackled by local antimicrobial molecules. Despite the existence of numerous immune-competent cells, the anterior chamber of the eye is characterised by low responsiveness. This review is focused on the innate and adaptive immunity employed to control health and disease in the canine eye.
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 2018
We compared 3 major cross-match (XM) tests to identify dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 7 blood inco... more We compared 3 major cross-match (XM) tests to identify dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 7 blood incompatibilities in dogs as a result of anti–DEA 7 antibodies: gel (GEL), standard tube (TUBE) agglutination, and immunochromatography strips (STRIP). Blood samples from 42 dogs were typed for DEA 7; 2 tested DEA 7–positive (DEA 7+). The 40 DEA 7–negative (DEA 7–) plasma samples were cross-matched against the 2 DEA 7+ and 3 DEA 7– red blood cell (RBC) samples by GEL to identify samples with anti–DEA 7 antibodies. Twenty DEA 7– plasma samples without and with anti–DEA 7 antibodies were cross-matched with samples of the 2 DEA 7+ RBCs in a double-blind fashion using the TUBE and STRIP XM methods. GEL results were used as the reference method for comparison. To determine relationships between results, 2 × 2 tables were used. Cohen kappa coefficient (κ) was calculated between results of GEL and the other 2 methods. With GEL, 21 of 40 XM tests were positive and 19 of 40 negative for anti–DEA 7 an...
Pig livestock was influenced by several global concerns that imposed a re-thinking of the farming... more Pig livestock was influenced by several global concerns that imposed a re-thinking of the farming system, which included the reduction in chemical dependency and the development of antimicrobial alternatives. Post-weaning diarrhea and enterotoxaemia caused by Escherichia coli, are serious threats that are responsible for the economic losses related to mortality, morbidity and stunted growth in weaning piglets. The aim of the study was to set up experimental conditions to simulate the simultaneous outbreak of post-weaning diarrhea and enterotoxaemia in weaned piglets, through verocytotoxic O138 Escherichia coli challenge, with a multidisciplinary approach. Eighteen piglets susceptible to F18 VTEC infection were selected by polymerase chain reaction for polymorphism on the fucosyltransferase 1 gene and randomly divided in two experimental groups, non-infected controls (C; n = 6) and infected ones (I; n = 12) and housed into individual pens at the same environmental conditions for 29 d...
Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most common causes of mortality in puppies worldwide. Prote... more Canine parvovirus (CPV) is one of the most common causes of mortality in puppies worldwide. Protection against CPV infection is based on vaccination, but maternally-derived antibodies (MDA) can interfere with vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of an in-clinic ELISA test to assess the CPV MDA in unvaccinated puppies and CPV antibodies in bitches, comparing the results with the gold standard haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Serum samples of 136 unvaccinated puppies were tested, along with sera of 16 vaccinated bitches. Five unvaccinated puppies were retested after vaccination. Both assays showed that the 16 vaccinated bitches had protective antibody levels against CPV. Conversely, significant discrepancies were observed for the MDA titers in unvaccinated puppies. Protective MDA titers were observed in 91.9% puppies using HI and in 40.4% by the in-clinic ELISA test, and only the latter one showed a decrease of MDA titers and percentages of prote...
Core vaccinations and specific antibody titer evaluations are strongly recommended worldwide by a... more Core vaccinations and specific antibody titer evaluations are strongly recommended worldwide by all the vaccination guidelines. Virus neutralization (VN) is considered the gold standard for measuring antibody titer against canine distemper virus, but it is complex and time consuming, and the use of in-clinics tests would allow to obtain quicker results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement of the commercial in-clinics VacciCheck test compared to VN. A total of 106 canine sera were analyzed using both methods. The best agreement was obtained using a protective threshold of ≥1:32. VacciCheck showed 95.5% sensitivity, 87.2% specificity, and 92.5% accuracy. The Cohen’s kappa coefficient between methods was 0.84 (CI 95% 0.73 to 0.95), revealing an optimal agreement between the two methods (p = 0.0073). The evaluation of discordant results reveal that most samples had less than 1.5 dilution difference, and that usually did not affect the classification as protected or non-p...
Plasma transfusion has been empirically employed in the management of newborn calves with failure... more Plasma transfusion has been empirically employed in the management of newborn calves with failure of passive transfer (FPT i.e. serum IgG concentration 21 of the 0:32 Brix refractometry scale) within 12 hours after birth [2]. PG calves received a dose of IgG from pooled plasma within 6 hours after birth. The IgG dose needed to obtain the minimum IgG serum level of 10 g/L in our calves has been determined by the following formula [3]: [(body weight x % blood volume) x (pretreatment serum IgG) + (Total IgG transfused)]/ (body weight x % blood volume) Plasma was collected from 20 healthy IBR free cows vaccinated against rotavirus, coronavirus and E. coli, selected from animals of the same herd with a high \u3b3-globulin rate. To obtain plasma, 4L of blood have been collected from each cow into sodium citrate transfusion packs and subsequently centrifuged. Plasma obtained was tested for IgG concentration by ELISA and than stored at -20 \ub0C until transfused. Serum IgG concentration before (T0) and after plasma transfusion or colostrum administration (1 day - T1, 3 days - T2, 7 days - T3) were determined by ELISA. Both groups were monitored by a daily clinical examination for a period of 3 week PG calves received a quantity of 52 \ub1 4,40 g of IgG in a volume of 2,23 \ub1 0,38 L of plasma. Four PG calves died for neonatal diarrhea complicated by E. coli septicemia at respectively 5, 11, 12, 16 days of age. On the other hand, none of the CG calves showed signs of disease or died during the study. Serum IgG concentration increased in both CG and PG calves. Mean concentration of IgG in all observation times, was higher in CG calves than PG calves (Fig.1). Altough all CG and PG calves showed an IgG value > 10g/L, the means between groups were statistically different at each observation (P<0.01) These results suggest that IV infusion of IgG is not a valid alternative to the administration of a good-quality colostrum, although both groups of animals reached an adequate quantity of serum IgG. Nevertheless, plasma trasfusion could represent an effective supportive therapy for FPT
International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2015
Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved molecules with immune functions such as complement acti... more Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved molecules with immune functions such as complement activation and opsonization. PTX3 is the prototypic long pentraxin and is produced by different cell populations after pro-inflammatory stimuli. Different studies have demonstrated the up-regulation of PTX3 during ruminant mastitis, but its role is still unknown. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of PTX3 in the immune response to S. aureus intra-mammary infection (IMI). Given that no data are available on PTX3 expression in goat tissues, we first studied its pattern of expression in goat normal tissues. Then we investigated the role of PTX3 during mammary infection, comparing its expression in healthy and infected blood, milk and tissues. Six healthy goats were infused with PBS in the right udder and with S. aureus in the left udder. Mammary biopsies from udders were collected 30h post infection, formalin fixed and routinely processed for microscopic evaluation or immediately ...
Background Vaccination plays an important role in feline healthcare as it is the most effective m... more Background Vaccination plays an important role in feline healthcare as it is the most effective measure for prevention against feline infectious diseases. Therefore, it is important to know owners’ opinion towards cats’ vaccination and current veterinary practices in order to advice owners on the use of the correct vaccination protocol. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of cats regularly vaccinated and identify the main factors motivating cat owners’ decisions related to vaccination in Italy. A questionnaire was disseminated online (mainly via social networks) to collect data regarding Italian cat owners’ demographics, information about cats, factors regarding cats’ vaccination, and veterinary-owner relationship. Results A total of 1264 owners participated in the survey and 1247 questionnaires were completed and statistically analyzed. The majority (91%; n = 1131) of cats were vaccinated and 80% (n = 998) had been vaccinated within the last 3 years. Age of 2–4 years old...
The canine eye is an immune-privileged organ that is provided with systems to prevent and control... more The canine eye is an immune-privileged organ that is provided with systems to prevent and control the local immune response, which could have a detrimental impact. The entry of blood-derived antigens is hindered by the blood-ocular barriers and potential invading pathogens are tackled by local antimicrobial molecules. Despite the existence of numerous immune-competent cells, the anterior chamber of the eye is characterised by low responsiveness. This review is focused on the innate and adaptive immunity employed to control health and disease in the canine eye.
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 2018
We compared 3 major cross-match (XM) tests to identify dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 7 blood inco... more We compared 3 major cross-match (XM) tests to identify dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 7 blood incompatibilities in dogs as a result of anti–DEA 7 antibodies: gel (GEL), standard tube (TUBE) agglutination, and immunochromatography strips (STRIP). Blood samples from 42 dogs were typed for DEA 7; 2 tested DEA 7–positive (DEA 7+). The 40 DEA 7–negative (DEA 7–) plasma samples were cross-matched against the 2 DEA 7+ and 3 DEA 7– red blood cell (RBC) samples by GEL to identify samples with anti–DEA 7 antibodies. Twenty DEA 7– plasma samples without and with anti–DEA 7 antibodies were cross-matched with samples of the 2 DEA 7+ RBCs in a double-blind fashion using the TUBE and STRIP XM methods. GEL results were used as the reference method for comparison. To determine relationships between results, 2 × 2 tables were used. Cohen kappa coefficient (κ) was calculated between results of GEL and the other 2 methods. With GEL, 21 of 40 XM tests were positive and 19 of 40 negative for anti–DEA 7 an...
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Papers by Paola Dall'Ara