A “One-Health” approach for diagnosis and molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy

Alessio Lorusso,Iolanda Mangone,Ottavio Portanti,Rinalda Mariani,Giovanni Savini,Cesare Cammà,Daniela Morelli,Adriano Di Pasquale,Antonio Rinaldi,Maria Mattucci,Maria Teresa Mercante,Marino Iommarini,Alessandro Grimaldi,Pierluigi Tarquini,Maurilia Marcacci,Giacomo Migliorati,Paolo Calistri,Silvio Borrello,Federica Monaco,Paolo Fazii,Nicola D’alterio

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2020.100135

Abstract

The current pandemic is caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV) called SARS-CoV-2 (species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, subgenus Sarbecovirus, genus Betacoronavirus, family Coronaviridae). In Italy, up to the 2nd of April 2020, overall 139,422 confirmed cases and 17,669 deaths have been notified, while 26,491 people have recovered. Besides the overloading of hospitals, another issue to face was the capacity to perform thousands of tests per day. In this perspective, to support the National Health Care System and to minimize the impact of this rapidly spreading virus, the Italian Ministry of Health involved the Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (IZSs), Veterinary Public Health Institutes, in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 by testing human samples. The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise is currently testing more than 600 samples per day and performing whole genome sequencing from positive samples. Sequence analysis of these samples suggested that different viral variants may be circulating in Italy, and so in Abruzzo region. CoVs, and related diseases, are well known to veterinarians since decades. The experience that veterinarians operating within the Public Health system gained in the control and characterization of previous health issues of livestock and poultry including avian flu, bluetongue, foot and mouth disease, responsible for huge economic losses, is certainly of great help to minimize the impact of this global crisis.

Highlights

The current pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV) called SARS-CoV-2 has been named by the World Health [1,2] Organization (WHO) as COVID-19
This paper aims at describing the first three weeks of experience gained by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell' Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM) in the melieu of COVID-19 crisis in support of the diagnostic workflow for SARS-CoV-2 of the Abruzzo region
The IZSs belong to the SSN, coordinated by the Ministry of Health (MoH), and such condition facilitates the establishment of fruitful collaborations with the Public Health sectors, including the development of common diagnostic and data exchange protocols

Summary

Introduction

The current pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV) called SARS-CoV-2 has been named by the World Health [1,2] Organization (WHO) as COVID-19. Even if 80% of COVID-19 human cases are mild, they can be still distressing and long-lasting. About 20% of infected patients may develop severe cases, and a small percentage of them (5%) may become critically ill. Patients with severe cases usually develop pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a condition that may require mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit treatment [3]. The novel epidemic, recognized as a public health emergency of international concern on January 302,020, and acknowledged at a pandemic on March 112,020, was initially recognized in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and continues to expand [5]

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