Publications

[current endemic expansion of boutonneuse fever in italy].	cases of rickettsiosis of all kinds have reduced to mere sporadic episodes in the last thirty years all over the mediterranean. but in the last five years, some regions of italy (lazio, liguria, sicily, sardinia) have registered an extraordinary epidemiological event, the endemoepidemic expansion of boutonneuse fever which was previously only seen in about thirty cases a year. it is now on the increase and 864 cases were notified in 1979, but the real incidence of the disease is much greater. th ...	1981	6894788
incidence of mediterranean spotted fever in sardinia in the years 1982-1984.	in this work the incidence of mediterranean spotted fever in the borough of cagliari (sardinia) over the years 1982-1984 is evaluated. our data show both an overall decrease of the incidence of the disease during this period of time with respect to the year 1980 and a significant reduction in the last year. in addition, the present study confirms the greater reliability of immunofluorescence respect to the weil-felix reaction in revealing mediterranean spotted fever. finally we show a marked inc ...	1985	3916095
study on immunobiology in ectoparasites of public health interest: rhipicephalus sanguineus.	the recently defined range of mediterranean spotted fever (msf) in sardinia coincides with that of the widely studied rickettsia conorii vector, the brown dog tick rhipicephalus sanguineus. this tick is major vector of disease in humans, domestic and wild animals. characteristic features of the vector with respect to their seasonal activity, abundance as well as incidence of human-tick contact and how these factors influence the incidence of msf were studied. this paper also looks at host, patho ...	2001	12078475
ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis in a canine population of northern sardinia.	ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis are very common, widespread diseases. these diseases are present in sardinia year round because its temperate weather permits the survival of many kinds of tick vectors. a thousand dogs were subjected to physical, hematological, biochemical examinations and serological tests. all 1,000 sera were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test to detect antibodies against e. canis and r. rickettsii. a high seroprevalence (about 50%) was detected for both etiol ...	2003	12860613
[ticks and the pediatrician].	the match between ticks and pediatricians in italy is usually a seasonal event related to the spring and summer trips and to the increasing of outdoor activity that sun and warm weather allow, both for children and ticks. so cared parents reach emergencies asking for tick removal but more often after the tick has yet been removed by empirical manoeuvres and after the killing and the destruction of the "enemy". we have scheduled, in the years 2002-2003, the 167 children that reached our unit for ...	2004	15305698
socio-demographic and climatic factors as correlates of mediterranean spotted fever (msf) in northern sardinia.	mediterranean spotted fever (msf) is endemic in the mediterranean area. we carried out a retrospective study to investigate the association between socio-demographic and climatic factors and msf incidence in northern sardinia. we found that maximum temperature levels during the previous summer were associated with increases in msf incidence.	2008	18256437
first direct detection of rickettsial pathogens and a new rickettsia, 'candidatus rickettsia barbariae', in ticks from sardinia, italy.	the present study evaluated the molecular detection and identification of rickettsia species in 83 ticks collected in sardinia, italy. fifteen ticks were pcr-positive using glta-specific and ompa-specific primers, leading to the identification of rickettsia aeschlimannii in hyalomma marginatum marginatum, r. massiliae in rhipicephalus turanicus and in rhipicephalus sanguineus, and a new rickettsia, previously referred to as potirb169 in portugal, in four rhipicephalus turanicus. this new species ...	2008	19040474
pathogens and symbionts in ticks: a survey on tick species distribution and presence of tick-transmitted micro-organisms in sardinia, italy.	a total of 1485 adult ticks were collected from mammalian hosts in south-eastern sardinia, italy, during the years 2007-2008. ticks were identified and tested by pcr analysis for presence of rickettsia species of the spotted fever group, ehrlichia canis, anaplasma phagocytophilum, coxiella burnetii, bartonella species and leishmania species. among all tick species examined (rhipicephalus sanguineus, rhipicephalus turanicus, rhipicephalus bursa, rhipicephalus pusillus, hyalomma marginatum margina ...	2010	20884769