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Review
. 2018 Mar:233:41-48.
doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.12.025. Epub 2018 Jan 3.

African swine fever: A re-emerging viral disease threatening the global pig industry

Affiliations
Review

African swine fever: A re-emerging viral disease threatening the global pig industry

P J Sánchez-Cordón et al. Vet J. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) recently has spread beyond sub-Saharan Africa to the Trans-Caucasus region, parts of the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe. In this new epidemiological scenario, the disease has similarities, but also important differences, compared to the situation in Africa, including the substantial involvement of wild boar. A better understanding of this new situation will enable better control and prevent further spread of disease. In this article, these different scenarios are compared, and recent information on the pathogenesis of ASF virus strains, the immune response to infection and prospects for developing vaccines is presented. Knowledge gaps and the prospects for future control are discussed.

Keywords: African swine fever; Control; Epidemiology; Immune responses; Pathogenesis; Vaccination.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Potential transmission routes for African swine fever virus (ASFV) in Europe. Sources of infection include infectious domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa), contaminated carcasses, food waste and contaminated vehicles or equipment. Soft ticks of Ornithodoros spp. have not been shown to be involved in transmission of ASFV in Eastern Europe, Russia or the Trans-Caucasus region. Wild boar are not present in Africa, but wild suids, including warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) and bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) can be persistently infected and act as a source of infection. Ornithodoros spp. ticks inhabiting warthog burrows or pig housing can also be involved in transmission in East Africa.

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