Ten years of BSE surveillance in Italy: Neuropathological findings in clinically suspected cases

• Published in: Research in veterinary science Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 872 - 878
• Main Authors: Iulini, B., Maurella, C., Pintore, M.D., Vallino Costassa, E., Corbellini, D., Porcario, C., Pautasso, A., Salata, C., Gelmetti, D., Avanzato, T., Palù, G., D’Angelo, A., Caramelli, M., Casalone, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2012; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Animals; Bovine; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Brain; Brain - pathology; BSE; Cattle; cortex; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; disease detection; disease surveillance; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - epidemiology; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - pathology; epidemiology; Female; Immunohistochemistry; Italy; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Neuropathology; pathology; Population Surveillance; Prions; Proteins; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Spongiform encephalopathies; Surveillance; veterinary; Veterinary medicine; Italy; United Kingdom > UK; Immunohistochemistry; Brain; Bovine; Surveillance; BSE; Neuropathology
• ISSN: 0034-5288; 1532-2661; 1532-2661
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.10.008

Between 2001 and 2010, 244 clinically suspected cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were reported in Italy. This report summarizes the neuropathological findings in cattle displaying clinical signs consistent with a diagnosis of BSE. All animal specimens were submitted for confirmatory testing; samples testing negative underwent neuropathological examination to establish the differential diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry for scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) at the level of frontal cortex was carried out to exclude atypical BSE. Neuropathological changes were detected in 34.9% of cases; no histological lesions were found in 52.3% of subjects; 12.8% of samples were found unsuitable for analysis. BSE was detected in one case, but no cases of atypical BSE were observed. This study identified the diseases most commonly encountered in the differential diagnosis of BSE; furthermore, it demonstrated that the surveillance system is necessary for monitoring neuropathological disease in cattle and for the detection of BSE cases.