title: Evidence for Chlamydiaceae and Parachlamydiaceae in a wild boar (Sus scrofa) population in Italy.
abstract: Conjunctival swabs from 44 free-living wild boars culled during a demographic control programme applied in a Regional Park located in the Northern Italy were examined by 16S rRNA encoding gene nested PCR. In total, 22 (50%) wild boars were PCR positive. Sequencing of the amplicons identified Chlamydia suis and Chlamydia pecorum in 12 and 5 samples, respectively. For one sample found PCR positive, the nucleotide sequence could not be determined. Four conjunctival samples showed ≥ 92% sequence similarities to 16S rRNA sequences from Chlamydia-like organisms, as did large intestine, uterus, and vaginal swabs from the same four animals. Amoeba DNA was found in one Chlamydia-like organism positive conjunctival swab. To our knowledge, this is the first detection of members of the Parachlamydiaceae family in wild boars, confirming a large animal host range for Chlamydia-like organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy. antoniet.difrancesco@unibo.it
authors.forename: Antonietta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Francesco
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baldelli
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cotti
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bassi
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delogu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002693:Chlamydiaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002695:Chlamydiales / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Avian influenza; Cuba; H5 subtype; H7 subtype; LPAI; Poultry; Surveillance system