Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating haemorrhagic fever of pigs that causes up to 100 % mortality, for which there is no vaccine. It is caused by a unique DNA virus that is maintained in an ancient cycle between warthogs and argasid ticks, making it the only known DNA arbovirus. ASF has a high potential for transboundary spread, and has twice been transported from Africa to other continents - Europe and subsequently the Caribbean and Brazil (1957, 1959) and the Caucasus (2007). It is also a devastating constraint for pig production in Africa. Research at Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute has made and is making important contributions to knowledge of this disease, focusing on the cycle in warthogs and tampans and transmission from that cycle to domestic pigs, resistance to its effects in domestic pigs, and the molecular genetic characterisation and epidemiology of the virus.
Highlights
African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating haemorrhagic fever of pigs that causes up to 100 % mortality (Penrith, Thomson & Bastos 2004b)
It is arguably the most serious constraint for pig production wherever it occurs. It is endemic in most sub-Saharan African countries where pigs are produced, and where pigs, because of their high reproductive potential and ability to convert low quality feed into high quality protein, could play a crucial role in poverty alleviation (Penrith et al 2004b). It is of great importance because of its remarkable potential for transboundary spread, which was amply demonstrated in the second half of the last century when it escaped from Africa to affect several countries in western Europe, with trans-Atlantic spread to the Caribbean and Brazil, and again in 2007 when it appeared in the Caucasus, with subsequent involvement of all the countries in that region (Wilkinson 1989; Penrith et al 2004b; World Organisation for Animal Health 2007, 2008)
The fact that ASF was confirmed in dead wild boars in Chechnya, on the border with Georgia (World Organisation for Animal Health 2007), is a matter for concern, since it complicates control and eradication
Summary
African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating haemorrhagic fever of pigs that causes up to 100 % mortality (Penrith, Thomson & Bastos 2004b) It is arguably the most serious constraint for pig production wherever it occurs. It is endemic in most sub-Saharan African countries where pigs are produced, and where pigs, because of their high reproductive potential and ability to convert low quality feed into high quality protein, could play a crucial role in poverty alleviation (Penrith et al 2004b). New generation vaccines may possibly offer some hope for the future (Lewis, Zsak, Burrage, Lu, Kutish, Neilan & Rock 2000), but there are still many challenges (Neilan, Zsak, Lu, Burrage, Kutish & Rock 2004; Argilaguet, Pérez-Martin, Gallardo, Nofrarias, Pujols, Pérez-Filgueira, Blanco, Salguero, Escribano & Rodriguez 2008)
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