Identification of Wild Boar-Habitat Epidemiologic Cycle in African Swine Fever Epizootic

Abstract

The African swine fever epizootic in central and eastern European Union member states has a newly identified component involving virus transmission by wild boar and virus survival in the environment. Insights led to an update of the 3 accepted African swine fever transmission models to include a fourth cycle: wild boar-habitat.

Keywords: ASF; African swine fever; Baltic States; Caucasus; Eurasia; European Union; Iberian Peninsula; Moldova; Ornithodoros; Romania; Ukraine; anthropogenic; carcass; domestic; domestic pig; epidemiologic; epizootic; habitat; parasite; soft tick; sub-Saharan Africa; sylvatic; the Russian Federation; tick; tick–pig; transmission cycle; vector-born infections; viruses; warthog; wild boar.

Figure

The 4 epidemiologic cycles of African swine fever and main transmission agents. 1) Sylvatic cycle: the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanuus), bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus), and soft ticks of Ornithodoros spp. The role of the bushpig in the sylvatic cycle remains unclear. 2) The tick–pig cycle: soft ticks and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). 3) The domestic cycle: domestic pigs and pig-derived products (pork, blood, fat, lard, bones, bone marrow, hides). 4) The wild boar–habitat cycle: wild boar (S. scrofa), pig- and wild boar–derived products and carcasses, and the habitat.