Abstract
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral disease that affects animals of the Suidae family, and soft ticks from the genus Ornithodoros can also be infected by the ASF virus (ASFV). The disease was first described in Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century as an acute disease characterized by high mortality and fatal hemorrhages. ASF has caused outbreaks in numerous countries and it continues to be devastating nowadays for the porcine sector in those countries affected, and a massive threat for those free of the disease. ASF can follow clinical courses from peracute to chronic in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) depending on a variety of factors, including the immune status of the animals and the virulence of the ASFV strain. The key features of the pathogenesis of the disease in domestic swine are a) a severe lymphoid depletion including lymphopenia and a state of immunodeficiency, and b) hemorrhages. However, African wild swine like bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus), red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus), and warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) can be infected by ASFV showing no clinical signs of disease and acting as natural reservoir hosts. In this article we review the key features of the gross and microscopic pathology together with a description of the pathogenesis of ASFV infection in domestic pigs following the different clinical courses. The pathogenesis of ASF in wild and domestic swine is also described, what can provide important information for the design of control strategies, such as vaccines.
Highlights
African swine fever (ASF) is the most important infectious disease of swine and has proven to be devastating for the pork industry worldwide
We describe the different clinical and pathological features of ASF in domestic and wild suids together with the key pathogenic mechanisms that induce the disease in the host species
Even though ASFV can replicate in endothelial cells, this phenomenon has not been observed in all the organs showing hemorrhages (Figure 5C), and more importantly, this virus replication has only been reported in endothelial cells in the last phases of the disease, while hemorrhages may occur at earlier stages [33, 48]
Summary
African swine fever (ASF) is the most important infectious disease of swine and has proven to be devastating for the pork industry worldwide. ASF was first observed in the early 1900’s in East Africa, when European domestic pig breeds were introduced in the Kenya Colony and animals developed a form of hemorrhagic disease with high morbidity and mortality [1]. The main target cell for ASFV is the monocyte/macrophage in both domestic and wild swine [28,29,30], but infection in lymphocytes has not been reported [30].
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