Assessing Viral Circulation in Wildlife: A Multi-Pathogen Study on Wild Boar in Southern Italy

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Abstract
The circulation of viruses of medical and veterinary importance is monitored to evaluate risks to both human and animal health. Among the species most commonly used in surveillance programs, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) plays a key role due to its high popu-lation density and its contacts with rural swine herds in the areas under investigation. In this study, molecular and serological analyses were carried out on wild boar samples collected from the regions of Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Calabria. The aim of this study is assessing the circulation of Influenza viruses, porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV-2), Flaviviruses, and Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV). Molecular analyses confirmed the presence of Influenza virus and PCV-2 in the wild population, while serological moni-toring detected specific antibodies against Influenza viruses, Flaviviruses, and ADV. The overall objective of the study is to deepen the understanding of virus circulation in the wildlife of Southern Italy, using the wild boar as an additional sentinel species for epidemiological surveillance activities. The distinctive feature of the project lies in its multi-pathogen approach applied to a reference population distributed across a parti-cularly wide geographical area, allowing for the simultaneous assessment of the circu-lation of different viruses over a large territory.
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