The first ever case
The XXII National Congress of the Italian Society of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostics (SIDi.LV) is being held in Brescia these days, in which the results of a study are presented (in which the Faunal Studies and Research Office also participated and Agro-Environmental of Federcaccia) thanks to which the first case of Myxomatosis in the Italian hare was diagnosed. Myxomatosis is a well-known viral disease, with variable virulence, of wild and domestic rabbits, now endemic in all areas where the species is present, whose etiological agent is the Myxoma virus (MYXV). Infection can occur via vectors (mosquitoes, fleas, etc.), with medium/high virulence strains or with low pathogenic strains. The susceptibility of Lagomorphs other than rabbits has been demonstrated with experimental infections, such as in the cottontail or "minilepre", which has been shown to play (where present) the role of natural "reservoir", i.e. conserving the virus in the environment, but also in the common hare, in which it sporadically manifests low pathogenic infections. A small outbreak in the latter species was recently discovered in Great Britain, but cases have also been known in Italy since 1975. However, in 2018 an extensive epidemic of Myxomatosis in the Iberian hare was described, with high mortality in the Spanish province of Toledo, infection however linked to the appearance of a new strain of Myxoma virus (MYXV-To).
Sustainable hunting harvest
During the project "Towards sustainable hunting of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) in Sicily: good practices and monitoring actions", started in 2017 in Sicily by Federcaccia and still in existence, it was killed in Racalmuto (AG) in November 2018 a male Italian hare with suspected myxomatosis lesions. The analyzes carried out partly at the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna in Brescia and partly at the Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich Loeffler Institut, Greifswald Insel Riems, Germany, revealed: 1) the presence of viral DNA from the Myxoma virus, for the first time in this hare species; 2) the exclusion that it is the MYXV-To strain (fortunately); 3) the simultaneous positivity for Treponema paraluisleporidarum), a sexually transmitted bacterium (agent of Lagomorph Syphilis, a disease not transmissible to humans), this pathogen also confirmed for the first time in the Italian hare.
Sample collection
Given the contemporary presence of Italian hare and wild rabbit populations in Sicily, viral genome sequencing investigations are underway with the hope that they can contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiological picture on the island. On new samples that will be collected during this hunting season as part of the project managed by Federcaccia in Sicily, it will also be interesting to carry out serological studies (comparative between the strain in question and other strains circulating in our country), with the aim of clarify whether it was an isolated case or whether, instead, we are dealing with a viral strain of Myxoma virus adapted to the Italian hare. The strategic role of the hunter as an "environmental sentinel" and his contribution to the holistic "One Health" vision are once again confirmed, which recognizes animal health, ecosystem health and human health as closely interconnected (source: Federcaccia).