Maria Foti

University of Messina | UNIME · Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie

The spread of antimicrobial resistance is one of the major health emergencies of recent decades. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria threaten not only humans but also populations of domestic and wild animals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of antibiotic resistance (AMR) and multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacterial strains is...

Background: The study of bats is of significant interest from a systematic, zoogeographic, ecological, and physiological point of view. The aim of this study is to investigate the culturable aerobic enteric, conjunctival, and oral bacterial flora of bats to determine their physiological microbiome and to investigate the possible occurrence of path...

Staphyloccoccus aureus is the major cause of mastitis in small ruminants in the Mediterranean farms causing severe losses to dairy industry. Antibiotic treatment has been the most common approach to control these infections. Aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR), virulence factors and biofilm-related genes of 84 Sicili...

The study of bats has a significant interest from a systematic, zoogeographic, ecological and physiological point of view, but their possible role as potential carriers of pathogenic bacteria is little explored and very little research has been carried out on the European continent. The aim of this study is to investigate the culturable aerobic ent...

Spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria in natural environments pose a risk to human and animal health. Wild birds are considered to be reservoirs of human pathogens and vectors of antimicrobial resistance distribution in the environment. The aim of this study is to assess the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in isolates from bird...

European stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) is a Palearctic species with high conservation interest. This species nests on the ground, in open canopies with sparse herbaceous vegetation, and is typically found next to areas of intense agro-pastoral activity, where it feeds on invertebrates present in ruminant droppings. This study aimed to investig...

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from cats affected by diseases commonly encountered in practice, and to characterise the third-generation cephalosporin (3GC)-resistance molecular mechanisms involved. Methods Clinical samples (n = 100) included 58 rectal swabs from ca...

Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria are a threat to global health. Epidemiological studies are necessary to gain a more detailed understanding of the transmission modality of resistant bacteria to wild animals and their diffusion into the environment to ensure a broader evaluation of the epidemiological role of wildlife. The study aimed to ident...

Background: Wild birds are considered to be reservoirs of human enteric pathogens and vectors of antimicrobial resistance dissemination in the environment. During their annual migration, they play a potential role in the epidemiology of human associated zoonoses. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of isolation and antimicrobial...

Monitoring antibiotic resistance in wildlife is a useful method of evaluating the impact of anthropic pressure (THALLER et al., 2010). Several studies have show that the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans and in veterinary medicine is accompanied by a similar co-emergence in wild species (GILLIVER et al., 1999; OSTERBL...

L'emergere di batteri multiresistenti in ambienti naturali rappresenta un rischio per la salute umana e animale. Il contatto con l’acqua e l'acquisizione tramite cibo sembrano essere la fonte della trasmissione di batteri resistenti di origine umana e veterinaria agli animali selvatici. Studi scientifici hanno dimostrato che gli uccelli selvatici g...

The study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and to characterize beta-lactam resistance mechanisms among Enterobacteriaceae isolates recovered from cats showing clinical signs of various diseases in Southern Italy. Out of n=101 cats, 58.4% had diarrhoea, 30.7% upper respiratory tract disease, 3.9% otitis, 2.9% conjunctiv...

1 Background Feline leishmaniosis (FeL) caused by Leishmania infantum (Li) is considered a rare disease in endemic areas whereas subclinical infections are common. Immune response plays an important role in driving the course of Li infection in humans and animals, however, feline immune response to Li infection has not yet been investigated. The ai...

Wild birds have been considered to be reservoirs of enteric human pathogens and vectors of resistance dissemination to the environment. During annual migration, they potentially play a role in the epidemiology of human associated zoonoses. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles...

Brucellosis continues to represent a pitfall of the Mediterranean basin for the serious effects not only on animals but also in humans. As far in most states, this disease has been largely eradicated, in other countries in developing is re-emerging with an alarming incidence. This note reports the results of an ophthalmologic study carried out on a...

Introduction and aim – Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has recently become a great concern for pet animal disease and zoonotic infection. MRSA strains transfer between pet animals and humans could occur. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of MRSA in 34 household dogs. Materials and methods – Thirty-four...

Introduction and aim: Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has recently become a great concern for pet animal disease and zoonotic infection. MRSA strains transfer between pet animals and humans could occur. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of MRSA in 34 household dogs. Materials and methods: Thirty-four sa...

The emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics used in veterinary practice is considered a source of multidrug resistant infection for humans. Although increasing incidence of antimicrobial resistance in small animal practices has already been noted, limited information is available about the problem in Domestic Canary (Serinus canaria domest...

Betanodavirus infection has been reported to cause diseases in a wide variety of marine fish species in aquaculture worldwide, and it is responsible of severe economic losses (Gagn e et al. 2004; Walker & Winton 2010). Fish nodaviruses more com-monly cause disease and mortality of up to 100% in larval and juvenile stages, although adults can also b...

The prevalence of Salmonella carriage and distribution of serotypes in spur-thighed tortoises, Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 illegally introduced in Italy was studied to assess the risk of disease exposure for humans once these specimens were traded as pets. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns were also analyzed to estimate the emergence of antibiot...

Introduction - Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has recently become a great concern for animal disease and zoonotic infection. There was evidence that MRSA strains transfer could occur between animals and humans; MRSA transmission to consumer through products of animal origin must not be neglected. Aim - The aim of the present stu...

Objective To describe the bacterial flora present in the normal conjunctiva of donkeys from Sicily (Italy). Animals studied A total of 46 healthy donkeys housed in 3 locations within the territory of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) were studied. Donkeys ranged from 2 to 13 years of age, with a median age of 6 years. Procedures Forty-six conjunctival swabs...

Donkey milk contains as much lysozyme (LZ) as equine milk (6000 times higher than bovine milk). LZ shows antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and some Gram-negative bacteria. LZ activity in donkey milk is very high and some authors supposed that donkey resistance to mammary infection is probably due to high amount of LZ. There is scarce lit...

Abstract. The prevalence of Salmonella carriage and distribution of serotypes in spur-thighed tortoises, Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 illegally introduced in Italy was studied to assess the risk of disease exposure for humans once these specimens were traded as pets. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns were also analyzed to estimate the emergence o...

Donkey milk contains as much lysozyme (LZ) as equine milk (6000 times higher than bovine milk). LZ shows antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and some Gram-negative bacteria. LZ activity in donkey milk is very high and some authors supposed that donkey resistance to mammary infection is probably due to high amount of LZ. There is scarce lit...

In recent years, an increase in human clinical cases of reptile-associated salmonellosis has been identified, and it has been attributed to the increased popularity of these animals as pets. Limited information is available regarding the distribution of Salmonella spp. serotypes in different reptile species and the antimicrobial resistance patterns...

Objective To describe the bacterial flora present in the normal conjunctiva of donkeys from Sicily (Italy). Animals studied A total of 46 healthy donkeys housed in 3 locations within the territory of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) were studied. Donkeys ranged from 2 to 13 years of age, with a median age of 6 years. Procedures Forty-six conjunctival swabs...

2011): Pathogenic microorganisms carried by migratory birds passing through the territory of the island of Ustica, Sicily (Italy), Avian Pathology, 40:4, 405-409 This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply...

Several studies have shown that migratory birds play an important role in the ecology, circulation and dissemination of pathogenic organisms. In October 2006, a health status evaluation was performed on a large population of migratory birds passing through the territory of Ustica (Italy), an island located on the migration route of many species of...

Previous studies on fish and marine mammals support the hypothesis that marine species harbor antibiotic resistance and therefore may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistance genetic determinants. The aim of this study was to assess the resistance to antimicrobial agents of Gram negative strains isolated from loggerhead sea turtles (Carettacar...

Suggested citation for this article: Foti M, Daidone A, Aleo A, Pizzimenti A, Giacopello C, Mammina C. Salmonella bongori 48:z35:– in migratory birds, Italy. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2009 Mar [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/15/3/502.htm

La Sindrome del Fegato Grasso consiste in una malattia epatica metaboliconutrizionale, prevalentemente dellegalline ovaiole allevate in gabbia, caratterizzata da improvvisa caduta della ovodeposizione, pallore di cresta e bargigli che si ricoprono di forfora. Scopo del presente lavoro è quello di contribuire alla conoscenza di tale sindrome, riport...

a b s t r a c t Previous studies on fish and marine mammals support the hypothesis that marine species harbor antibi-otic resistance and therefore may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistance genetic determinants. The aim of this study was to assess the resistance to antimicrobial agents of Gram negative strains isolated from loggerhead sea tu...

Aujeszky's disease (AD), Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and Swine influenza (SI) are among the principal agents of respiratory diseases of pigs. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies to SHV-1, PRRSV and SIV in pigs reared in Sicily. An Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the glicoprotein gE of ps...

Feline Calicivirus (FCV) has been recognised as major oral and respiratory pathogen of cats. The high correlation among the field viruses and FCV-F9 serotype has represented the immunological bases for the employ of FCV-F9 serotype as a vaccine for calicivirosis in cats. The aim of this paper was to evaluate, by in vitro neutralization assays, the...

The cloacal microbial flora of 49 loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, was evaluated from two cloacal swabs for each individual. The predominant isolates in descending order of frequency were as follows: Escherichia coli (78 isolates), Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris (24 isolates), Citrobacter freundii (15 isolates), Providencia rettgeri...

Aujeszky's disease (AD), Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and Swine influenza (SI) are among the principal agents of respiratory diseases of pigs. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies to SHV-1, PRRSV and SIV in pigs reared in Sicily. An Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the glicoprotein gE of ps...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a type of Staphylococcus that is resistant to certain antibiotics. These antibiotics include methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. Staphylococcus infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare fac...

Fragments of the genes encoding the haemoagglutinin (H) and the nucleocapsid protein (N) of a canine distemper (CDV)-like virus affecting a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) were sequenced and analysed. The CDV-like virus detected in the fox was found to be not dissimilar, in both the H and N gene, from other CDVs spreading in Italy, as well as all over the...

Increasing evidence suggests that regulation of apoptosis in infected cells is associated with several viral infections. The gammaherpesvirus bovine herpesvirus 4 (BHV-4) has been shown to harbor genes with antiapoptotic potentialities. However, here we have demonstrated that productive infection of adherent, permissive cell lines by BHV-4 resulted...

The AA have isolated a new serovar of Genus Salmonella S.V 13.22:r:-, from a cockroach Periplaneta Americana, captured near the municipal slaughterhouse of Messina and near the Faculty of Veterinary Science. This fifth original report fift in the vast subject of the environmental pollution, where the cockroaches, as widely documented, unwind a prim...

The authors made some diagnostic investigation into a serious case of diarrhoea observed in an infant in the pediatric ward of the University hospital of Messina (Sicily). They brought into evidence some of the causes of the world wide spread of salmonella infection, in particular the spread of new serum-types, such as S. mbandaka, which was involv...

The authors describe briefly the protocol for isolating a new serovar of Salmonella from the stools and the sand of a cage-shield of a python (Python regius (Shaw, 1802), kept as pet animal by a family in Messina. Such a finding is considered within the complex and wide investigation programme which we have been carrying out for years in our Instit...