Technologist
Marine Animal Conservation and Public Engagement Department
Tel. +39 081 5833222 - 602 - 612
Fax: +39 081 5833294
e-mail andrea.affuso(at)szn.it
Skype: andreaaffuso
Research interests
Expand knowledge and improve medical practices in veterinary medicine for the prevention and treatment of diseases in marine organisms kept in captivity. These activities are mainly applied: to improve the housing procedures for the optimization of the environmental conditions in order to make them as responsive as possible to the needs of the different species housed and to reduce the risk of contamination by potentially dangerous microorganisms; to the health monitoring; to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting marine organisms kept in captivity. Concerning subjects retrieved and transferred to the sea turtle rescue center, the veterinary surgeon support aims to improve therapeutic approaches in order to return to these subjects optimal health conditions, compatible with the release to wild.
Selected Publications
Fiorito G, Affuso A, Anderson D B, Basil J, Bonnaud L, Botta G, Alison A, D’Angelo L, Girolamo P, Dennison N, Dickel L, Di Cosmo A, Di Cristo C, Gestal C, Fonseca R, Grasso F, Kristiansen T, Kuba M, Maffucci F, Manciocco A, Mark F C, Melillo D, Osorio D, Palumbo A, Perkins K, Ponte G, Raspa M, Shashar N, Smith J, Smith D, Sykes A, Villanueva R, Tublitz N, Zullo L, Andrews P. Cephalopods in neuroscience: regulations, research and the 3Rs. Invert Neurosci. 2014; 14(1): 13–36. Published online 2014 January 3. doi: 10.1007/s10158-013-0165-x PMCID: PMC3938841
Fiorito G, Affuso A, Basil J, Cole A, de Girolamo P, D'Angelo L, Dickel L, Gestal C, Grasso F, Kuba M, Mark F, Melillo D, Osorio D,Perkins K1, Ponte G , Shashar N, Smith D, Smith J, Andrews PL. Guidelines for the Care and Welfare of Cephalopods in Research -A consensus based on an initiative by CephRes, FELASA and the Boyd Group. Lab Anim. 2015 Jul;49(2 Suppl):1-90. doi: 10.1177/0023677215580006.
Santoro M, Di Nocera F, Iaccarino D, Lawton SP, Cerrone A, Degli Uberti B, D'Amore M, Affuso A, Hochscheid S, Maffucci F, Galiero G. Pathology and molecular analysis of Hapalotrema mistroides (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) infecting a Mediterranean loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta. Dis Aquat Organ. 2017 Apr 20;124(2):101-108. doi: 10.3354/dao03117.
Pace A, Meomartino L, Affuso A, Mennonna G, Hochscheid S, Dipineto L. Aeromonas induced polyostotic osteomyelitis in a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta Dis Aquat Organ. 2018 Dec 11;132(1):79-84. doi: 10.3354/dao03305.
F. Maffucci; A. Pace; A. Affuso; M. Ciampa; G. Treglia; A. Pignalosa; S. Hochscheid. Carapace scute pattern anomalies in the loggerhead turtle: are they indicative of hatchling’s survival probability? Journal of Zoology. 2019 Dec 29. https:// doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12754
Marchiori E., Giorgia Dotto G., Tessarin C., Santoro M., Affuso A., Tarricone L., Di Renzo L., Freggi D., Spoto V. and Marcer F. - A pilot study on molecular diagnosis of Hapalotrema mistroides (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) infection in blood samples of live loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta - BMC Veterinary Research 2020 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-2232-y
Mennonna, G., Lamagna, B., Affuso, A., Greco, A., Micieli, F., Costanza, D., Hochscheid, S. & Meomartino, L.: Normal ultrasonographic features of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) eyes. Nat. Croat., Vol. 29, Suppl. 1., 3-10, 2020, Zagreb.
B. Lamagna, A. Affuso, F. Micieli, G. Mennonna, L. Meomartino, G. Della Valle, M. Ciampa, G. Treglia, S. Hochscheid Comparison of IntraOcular Pressure measurement using rebound and applanation tonometry in loggerhead (caretta caretta) sea turtles J Zoo Wildl Med 2021 Jun;52(2):604-609. doi: 10.1638/2020-0070.
