Medicina Narrativa Veterinaria: il caso di West Caucasian Bat Lyssavirus di Arezzo, una nuova malattia emergente?

This paper highlights the importance and usefulness of adopting a narrative-based approach to improve learning in infectious diseases within the veterinary field. The first section introduces Narrative Medicine and its application areas, with particular reference to the role of storytelling for the transmission of scientific knowledge and data for teaching purposes. The second part of the paper reports the case of the West Caucasian Bat Lyssavirus (WCBV); that it was isolated for the first time in a cat owned by a family from Arezzo. The discovery of WCBV occurred due to the intervention of the veterinarian who visited the cat, suspected Rabies, and followed the case until the isolation of the virus that occurred in July 2020. This paper examines several aspects involved in the infection which was caused by an emerging viral agent, potentially zoonotic, which was passed from a wild to a domestic species. This paper focuses on the clinical, diagnostic, and preventive elements that accompany the history of the disease. In this context, Narrative Medicine has been a useful tool for collecting experiences of certain situations and for transmitting valid scientific information, which can be used to improve awareness of a disease and the management of any future cases by operators of public health.