Sixteen specimens of female crucian carp, Carassius carassius (L.), during the breeding season, were investigated for post-mortem and full diagnostic examination during a mortality outbreak in a tributary stream of the Arno River in Tuscany in 2011. Necropsy highlighted the presence of a swollen anus and widespread haemorrhages in the body, fins, gills and eyes. Haemorrhages in internal organs and spleen granulomas were also observed. Bacteria isolated from the brain, kidney and spleen of affected fish were identified as A. sobria. Microscopic lesions observed in gills were characterized by necrosis of the secondary lamellae, congestion and multifocal lamellar fusion. The kidney showed necrosis, oedema, fibrin exudation and areas of haemorrhages, while in the spleen the main lesions were by multifocal necrosis of the lymphoid tissue. In the gills, transmission electron microscopy revealed herpesvirus-like particles, subsequently identified as Cyprinid herpesvirus-2 (CyHV-2) with a nested PCR protocol. Although it was not possible to attribute a pathogenic role to CyHV-2 in this mortality event, the identification of this herpesvirus in crucian carp increases the concern about its potential role in this species.

An unusual mortality event involving cetaceans, mainly striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833), occurred along the Tyrrhenian Sea coast of Italy during the first 3 mo of 2013. Based on post-mortem analyses carried out according to body condition on 66 dolphins (54% of stranded animals), several hypotheses to explain the causes of this mortality event were proposed. Although no definitive conclusions can be drawn, dolphin morbillivirus was deemed the most likely cause, although other infectious agents (including Photobacterium damselae damselae and herpesvirus) or environmental factors may also have contributed to this recent mortality event.

The wild boar is an important source of trichinellosis for people in European countries as a large number of hunted animals escape veterinary control. In November 2012, uncooked sausages made with meat from wild boar were consumed by 38 persons in a village of the Lucca province (Tuscany region, Italy). Of them, 34 were serologically positive, 32 developed clinical signs and symptoms of trichinellosis, and two were asymptomatic. Trichinella britovi larvae were detected in vacuum-packed sausages made with the same batch of sausages consumed raw which had been prepared with meat from wild boar hunted in the Lucca province. As no case of trichinellosis had been reported in this region during the last 20 years, the regional public health authority considered the risk for this zoonosis to be negligible and put in place a surveillance programme on Trichinella spp. in indicator animals (mainly foxes and including wild boar for private consumption), by testing only a percentage of heads. The experience from this outbreak shows that the definition of a region with a negligible risk for Trichinella infection is not applicable to wild boar and stresses the need to test all Trichinella-susceptible wild animals intended for human consumption and to implement risk communication to consumers and hunters.

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