Investigation of the First African Swine Fever Outbreak in a Domestic Pig Farm in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this study, we describe the epidemiological investigation of the first African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in a local domestic pig farm in the New Territories of Hong Kong in 2021. In the outbreak farm, several affected pigs presented clinical and pathological signs consistent with ASF, while the remaining pigs showed nonspecific clinical signs or did not exhibit any clinical signs. The relative low morbidity and mortality of ASF on this farm resulted in delayed detection and implementation of the control response. Despite this delay, no further spread of the disease from this farm to other farms or wild boars was observed. The clinical presentation of ASF in terms of morbidity and mortality on this farm indicated that it is essential for effective surveillance aimed at early detection for farmers, veterinarians, and pathologists to be educated about the different ways ASF can express itself in domestic pig populations. Epidemiological investigations consisted of field inspection, interviews with farm personnel to assess the management and biosecurity practices within the farm, and laboratory testing of animal and environmental samples. In addition, the complete genome of ASFV was obtained directly from the tissues of an infected pig to facilitate the epidemiological investigation. The genetic relationship at the whole genome level indicated that the isolate shared the highest level of similarity with genotype II ASFVs, including a 2019 isolate from Guangdong province, China (GD2019). Overall, the information presented here from the on-farm investigation with that from diagnostic testing and molecular analyses provides a basis for informed actions to prevent future incidents in farms with similar characteristics. Furthermore, this study highlighted the need to increase current knowledge about the molecular diversity amongst circulating viruses and potentially trace the source of infection.