A STUDY ON THE SANITARY ASPECTS OF WILD AND CONFISCATED INDIVIDUALS OF TESTUDO HERMANNI IN ITALY

There is a lack of knowledge concerning the sanitary aspects of most chelonians. In particular, herpesviruses are among the most important viral pathogens in chelonians, particularly in naive population. In addition, reptiles are considered asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella spp.. In this study a microbiological and parasitological investigation on wild (W) and confiscated individuals (C) of Testudo hermanni from several Italian regions, was conducted. For this purpose, oral and cloacal sampling by sterile swabs and fresh fecal samples were obtained. In addition, the presence of endoparasites by the collection of individual fresh faecal samples was examined. Eighty-four oral swabs (OS) and 66 cloacal swabs (CS) were collected for microbiological examination. DNA was extracted from each OS using a commercial kit. A consensus nested PCR protocol was performed to amplify a conserved fragment of the DNA polymerase of the herpesviruses. The CS was inoculated in selective mediums for Salmonella spp. and the isolates were serotyped by direct slide agglutination using specific antisera. A total of 39 faecal samples, were coprologically analyzed for the presence of endoparasites, following three methods: 1) Sheather flotation technique (specific gravity 1.25); 2) formal-ether sedimentation technique; 3) microplate enzyme immunoassay for detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium specific antigen (GSA 65 and CSA) (Prospect- Giardia/Cryptosporidium- OXOID). No active herpesvirus infection was found. However, a latent infection, not detectable by PCR on oral swabs, could not be excluded. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 15 cloacal swabs and the following serotypes were identified: Salmonella enterica Abony (W: n=1; C: n=5), Langord (W: n=5), Newport (C: n=1), Miami (R: n=1), Wedding (W: n=1) and Hermannswerder (W: n=1). The analyzed faecal samples contained a broad spectrum of parasites (total occurrence 88,74%, n=35) including different species of nematodes such as oxyurids (88,74%, n=35), ascarids (7,69%, n=3) and protozoans (Entamoeba spp. 25,64%, Balantidium spp. 12,82% and Nyctotherus spp. 30,77%). All samples resulted negative for Giardia and Cryptosporidium. In tortoises, parasites belonging to the super family Oxyuridoidea are common as well as some flagellate protozoa which are considered commensal. With regards Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp., important for their potential zoonotic transmission, few data are currently available in tortoises. Tortoises act as natural hosts of many species of amoebae (E. turtle, E. testudinis, E. clevelandi etc...) which are considered commensal. However, due to the increasing number of human cases of meningoencephalitis by amoebae of animal origin, there pathogenic role should be taken into consideration. In conclusion, the zoonotic risk in managing T. hermanni should always be considered. In the case of confiscation, in which the mixing of different individuals is possible and the risk of transmission of infectious agents can be high, the management of this animals must be properly evaluated especially when a reintroduction program is planned.