Paolo Pozzi

Torino University; Veterinary Sciences Department; Practitioner · Specialisation School in Animal Health

The ethical approach of Judaism to the animals, the environment, the basic needs of our neighbor.

First EU-PRRSV outbreak in Israel.

We assessed the bacterial agents found in 8-12-wk-old post-weaning pigs with arthritis. The bodies of 178 post-weaning pigs from 90 farms (average of 2 pigs/farm) with recurrent problems of lameness and swollen joints in a high-density breeding area were submitted for autopsy and sampled for further bacterial investigation. The most common articula...

In January 2021, Israel encountered an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in several ruminant herds in the Galilee, in the north of the country. Clinical signs such as eating disorders, fever, oral lesions, drooling, rise in body temperature, lesions around the hoof, limping and mortality of young kids and calves were recognized. Tiger heart was se...

Background: Hepatitis E (HEV) is an emerging cause of viral hepatitis worldwide. Swine carrying hepatitis E genotype 3 (HEV-3) are responsible for the majority of chronic viral hepatitis cases in developed countries. Recently, genotype 7 (HEV-7), isolated from a dromedary camel in the United Arab Emirates, was also associated with chronic viral he...

two unusual cases of Balantidium coli outbreaks in pigs in Israel

The virus responsible for the pandemic that has affected 152 countries worldwide is a new strain of coronavirus (CoV), which belongs to a family of viruses widespread in many animal species, including birds, and mammals including humans. Indeed, CoVs are known in veterinary medicine affecting several species, and causing respiratory and/or enteric,...

Data on the prevalence of major contagious pathogens in bulk tank milk (BTM) in Italy are generally not available. The availability of Real-Time PCR procedures (qPCR) to perform BTM analysis by represents an important step to define herd health status. Therefore, a cross-sectional epidemiological study was designed to assess the prevalence of conta...

Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) is a multifactorial syndrome that causes health problems in growing pigs and economic losses to farmers. The etiological factors involved can be bacteria, viruses, or mycoplasmas. However, environmental stressors associated with farm management can influence the status of the animal's health. The role and...

We assessed the causes of polyserositis in pigs, categorized by causative agents and ages of animals affected. In a 3-y study, 246 pigs from 80 different farms with recurrent problems of polyserositis, in a high-density breeding area, were submitted for autopsy; 154 pigs with typical fibrinous serosal lesions were sampled for further bacterial and...

Twenty one pig farms, comprising about 14,400 sows and 90,000 fattening pigs, were examined relative to Leptospira serological positivity in fattening pigs. Twelve farms (57.14%) were positive with average of 41.67% positive samples. L. canicola was the predominant serovar (100%), with a few cross-reactions for other serovars. There was as strong c...

In November 2015, a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak occurred in a farrowing unit of a farrow to finish pig unit of 350 breeders, caused by FMD virus Type O. The outbreak caused mortality of 59% of piglets and of two sows. Sows totaled two deaths, two were euthanized and nine were sent to the slaughterhouse for urgent slaughtering, constitutin...

FMD; Vaccination; Sows; Piglets; Protection

IntroductionThe zoonotic hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 (HEV-G3) has become a common cause of acute and chronic hepatitis among humans worldwide. In Israel, while HEV-3 sequences have previously been detected in sewage, only the non-zoonotic HEV-G1 genotype has been found in samples from human patients.AimIn this pilot study, we aimed to assess...

This article summarizes the clinical findings and confirmation laboratory procedures occurring during the first outbreak the American strain of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), in swine farms in Israel. So far, (2017), Israel has been considered free from PRRS. At least 7 pig farms were involved in the PRRSV outbreak, in...

In Israel around 330,000 ruminants are yearly slaughtered without stunning and according to Jewish and Islamic religious requirements. The slaughters of animals may implicate a lack of standardization of some parameters which categorically have animal welfare relevance. In this survey, some parameters linked with animal welfare aspects have been mo...

Shechita is the procedure of killing or slaughtering animals for food production, according to Jewish tradition and it is performed without prior stunning. USA and European legislations conditionally allow slaughter without prior stunning in the frame of religion freedom (USA) or religious/cultural traditions (EU); nevertheless some traditional eve...

The epidemiological investigation of an incident that killed 98 sows (170-220 kg b.w.) out of a total of 180 sows was described. The sows were at the beginning (1-2 weeks) of their lactation period. The incident started with the sudden death of 8 sows and lasted 20 days. No clinical signs of disease were observed prior to the death of the first ani...

Reproductive failure in sows is one of the most important factors affecting pig breeding. Many reproductive disorders are linked to both environmental factors and infectious agents. The goal of our study was to determine the presence of pathogens that are known to cause abortion, considering a set of conditioning factors, such as seasonality and pr...

In November 2015, a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak occurred in the farrowing unit of a farrow to finish unit of 350 breeders, induced by FMD virus Type O. The outbreak caused mortality of 59% of piglets and of one sow. Sows totalized two death; two euthanized and nine sent to slaughterhouse for urgent slaughtering, total 4% losses, as a cons...

In this report we describe for the first time the detection of Sarcoptes scabiei type suis mites on domestic pigs in Israel and examine its genetic variation compared with S. sabiei from other hosts. Microscopic examination of skin samples from S. scabiei-infested pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) revealed all developmental stages of S. scabiei. To dete...

The recent emergence of H1N1 influenza in humans generated concerns about cross-species infections between humans and swine, and the potential amplifying role of infected and densely populated pigs units. In Israel there are 24 swine breeding units, mainly localized in Northern Region and a single unit in the South; these units produce about 200,00...

Ionophores are used as feed additives for the control of coccidiosis and growth promotion in farm animals. Reports of maduramicin toxicosis in farm animals are scarce. The present work describes an acute maduramicin toxicosis affecting 22 pregnant gilts, 2 pregnant sows and 2 boars, resulting in a total mortality of 65% within 2 days. The clinical...

Pig production in Israel is limited to about 20 farms, producing approximately 200,000 pigs per year. In January 2013 “Guidelines for Swine Keeping” in Israel became effective, regulating minimal standards for space requirements of pigs, use of individual crates for sows, correct implementation of castration, tail docking and teeth clipping. This a...

In a closed pig holding facility containing 425 sows, located in northern Israel, a Classical Swine Fever (CSF) outbreak occurred, which caused the loss of 267 sows (62.8% of the farm sow population), 4 boars (out of 6), and 828 growing/fattening pigs (41.4% of the total on the farm), through direct mortality, partial culling, and an unknown number...

Almost all the fertility parameters in sows (reproductive and productive) may be affected by different infectious diseases. Changes in reproductive parameters may also occur without the appearance of appreciable pathological findings or with clinical signs often overlapping or similar to different diseases or pathogens. All the clinical aspects and...

In a farrow to fnish holding of 1,200 sows, mortality in growing and fattening pigs increased up to 8% with several cases of sudden mortality due to respiratory diseases. Lesions at necropsy were suggestive of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) infection. Lungs from necropsies were submitted for laboratory investigation for the purpose of isolat...

Classical swine fever (CSF) re-emerged in Israel in February 2009 after an absence of 62 years. The outbreak occurred on a domestic pig farm in northern Israel and affected domestic pigs and wild boar. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of a 190 base pair fragment of the E2 glycoprotein gene, the Israeli CSF virus strain belonged to genotype 2.1...

The recent emergence of H1N1 influenza in humans generated concerns about cross-species infections between humans and swine, and the potential amplifying role of infected and densely populated pigs units. In Israel there are 24 swine breeding units, mainly localized in Northern Region and a single unit in the South; these units produce about 200,00...

The domesticated sow has a very high reproductive potential, with more than two litters and more than 25 piglets born per year. Inadequate management, feeding, environment and climatic factors and diseases, negatively affect this potential. hormonal therapies are currently in wide use in modern swine breeding to contain and limit reproductive losse...

The domesticated sow has a very high reproductive potential, with more than two litters and more than 25 piglets born per year. Inadequate management, feeding, environment and climatic factors and diseases, negatively affect this potential. Hormonal therapies are currently in wide use in modern swine breeding to contain and limit reproductive losse...

A case of atypical piglet pre-weaning diarrhea, non-responsive to antibiotics, was investigated in a farrow-to-finish swine herd in northern Israel. The presence of Giardia spp. was confirmed without further classification. Giardia is a common contaminant of water and feed in some places. It has been diagnosed previously in the Israeli human popula...

During the years 2006-2007, an increase of respiratory and enteric problems in piglets after weaning was reported from pig herds in western Galilee. These problems were accompanied by increased mortality and a lower growth rate of the affected piglets. A reduced growth rate was also noted in older pigs at these farms. Sick piglets were bled on thre...