An outbreak of winter dysentery, complicated by severe respiratory syndrome, occurred in January 2020 in a high production dairy cow herd located in a hilly area of the Calabria region. Of the 52 animals belonging to the farm, 5 (9.6%) died with severe respiratory distress, death occurring 3–4 days after the appearance of the respiratory signs (caught and gasping breath). Microbiological analysis revealed absence of pathogenic bacteria whilst Real-time PCR identified the presence of RNA from Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV) in several organs: lungs, small intestine (jejunum), mediastinal lymph nodes, liver and placenta. BCoV was therefore hypothesized to play a role in the lethal pulmonary infection. Like the other CoVs, BCoV is able to cause different syndromes. Its role in calf diarrhea and in mild respiratory disease is well known: we report instead the involvement of this virus in a severe and fatal respiratory disorder, with symptoms and disease evolution resembling those of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes (SARS).

中文翻译：

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意大利南部母牛的牛间质性致命性间质性肺炎

2020年1月，位于卡拉布里亚地区丘陵地区的一头高产奶牛群爆发了冬季痢疾，并伴有严重的呼吸系统综合症。在该农场的52只动物中，有5名（9.6％）死于严重的呼吸窘迫，死亡发生在呼吸道迹象（被抓住和喘着气）出现后3-4天。微生物学分析显示不存在病原细菌，而实时PCR鉴定了牛冠状病毒（BCoV）的RNA在多个器官中的存在：肺，小肠（空肠），纵隔淋巴结，肝脏和胎盘。因此，有人认为BCoV在致死性肺部感染中起作用。像其他CoV一样，BCoV能够引起不同的综合症。它在小腿腹泻和轻度呼吸道疾病中的作用是众所周知的：