title: Encephalomyocarditis virus infection in Macaca sylvanus and Hystrix cristata from an Italian rescue centre for wild and exotic animals.
abstract: The Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) is a small, non enveloped, positive sense single-stranded RNA virus in the genus Cardiovirus, family Picornaviridae, with two known serotypes. It is spread worldwide and infects a huge range of vertebrate hosts with zoonotic potential for humans. The pig is the mammal most likely to be impacted on with the disease, but EMCV occurrence has also been reported in non-human primates and in a variety of domestic, captive and wild animals. Until now, human cases have been very rare and the risk appears to be almost negligible in spite of human susceptibility to the infection.
  
  
  
  Between September and November 2012 a fatal Encephalomyocarditis virus outbreak involving four Barbary macaques and 24 crested porcupines occurred at a rescue centre for wild and exotic animals in Central Italy. In this open-field zoo park located near Grosseto, Tuscany about 1000 animals belonging to different species, including various non-human primates were hosted at that time. Sudden deaths were generally observed without any evident symptoms or only with mild nonspecific clinical signs. The major gross change was characterised by grey-white necrotic foci in the myocardium and the same EMCV strain was isolated both in macaques and crested porcupines. Phylogenetic analysis has confirmed that only one EMCV strain is circulating in Italy, capable of infecting different animal species.
  
  
  
  This report confirms the susceptibility of non-human primates to the EMCV infection and describes the disease in porcupine, a common wild Italian and African species. No human cases were observed, but given the zoonotic potential of EMCV these findings are of importance in the context of animal-human interface.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy. giusy.cardeti@izslt.it.
authors.forename: Giusy
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3365-9437
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cardeti
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Viale Europa, 30-58100, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mariano
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eleni
authors.affiliation: Centro Recupero Animali Selvatici della Maremma (CRASM) e Animali Esotici (CRAE), SO 34 km 3,5, 58055 Semproniano, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aloisi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Goffredo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grifoni
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sittinieri
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giampiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dante
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Antognetti
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini" (IZSLER), Via A. Bianchi, 7/9-25124, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Efrem Alessandro
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Foglia
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Via Appia Nuova, 1411-00178, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cersini
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "M.Aleandri" (IZSLT), Viale Europa, 30-58100, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberigo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nardi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000068881:Animals, Exotic; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D018188:Cardiovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004686:Encephalomyocarditis virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008251:Macaca; D046328:Porcupines; D018419:Primate Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
keywords: Animals; Barbary macaque; Captive; Crested porcupine; Encephalomyocarditis virus; Italy; Outbreak; Wild