Application of integrated diagnostic approaches for monitoring the genomic traits of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus and Echinococcus granulosus in veterinary public health

Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is a bacterium commonly found in various animal species and in humans and for this it is not often considered an aetiological agent of disease. However, growing evidence supports the key role of SEZ in developing severe clinical manifestations of diseases highlighting the importance of characterizing the different circulating strains. In an outbreak involving 37 people in Abruzzo (including five deaths), the zoonotic ST61 of SEZ was isolated [1]. This allowed us to trace the origin of the infection in the consumption of soft cheeses produced with unpasteurized milk from cows with mastitis and prevented the further spread of life-threatening diseases. SEZ was also responsible for the death of four donkeys in the same province, but in this case, the ST525 sequenced was different from the previous one and the analysis by the ABRIcate method showed virulence genes that are not present in other strains [2]. In both cases, results were achieved through a diagnostic process involving an integrated approach, including bacteriological isolation and characterization with MALDI-TOF-MS and genome sequencing by Next-generation sequencing (NGS) performed through the Illumina platform. Correlations between human strains, in the first case, were also determined by performing singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis and Applied Nutrition pipeline and by using MinION technology. Echinococcus granulosus is a cestode parasite of both domestic and wild animals as well as humans [3]. The Abruzzo region, recently, included a plan of surveillance at slaughterhouses and kennels through analysis of tissue cysts and dog feces, in addition to those obtained at necroscopic exams from wildlife examined as part of the regional surveillance plan. Also in this case the application of a multi-methodology process including the validation of a qPCR and genotyping by NGS allows us to define the predominantly circulating genotypes.