Abstract
BackgroundAfrican swine fever (ASF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease of domestic and wild swine. ASF has been endemic in Burkina Faso since 2003. In October 2018, substantial pig deaths occurred in Ouagadougou and two neighboring municipalities in central Burkina Faso. Following these mortalities, the veterinary extension services carried out investigations to begin control measures and collect samples.MethodsWe performed real-time PCR for diagnostic confirmation and molecular characterization of the virus based on the partial P72, the complete p54, the partial CD2v, and partial B602L genes.ResultsThe field study revealed that mortalities started two weeks before our investigations. The real-time PCR results confirmed ASFV DNA in twenty samples out of sixty-two blood samples collected in four different locations. The sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that ASFVs causing these outbreaks belong to genotype I and serogroup 4. The study of the CVR showed 4 TRS variants, and that of the CD2v amino acid sequence revealed five variants based on the number of deleted KCPPPK motifs in the C-terminal proline-reach region of the protein.ConclusionsThe existence of multiple variants in these outbreaks shows the importance of molecular characterization to understand the evolution of ASFV isolates and the link between epidemics.
Highlights
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease of domestic and wild swine
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease caused by the ASF virus (ASFV), an Asfivirus of the family Asfarviridae and can affect both wild and domestic pigs
The butchers visit several farms to obtain pigs, transport the purchased animals to meat processing sites increasing the risk for further disseminating the disease
Summary
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease of domestic and wild swine. ASF has been endemic in Burkina Faso since 2003. ASF causes a drop in animal production and affects livestock productivity due to high mortality that can reach 100% in outbreaks involving highly virulent strains. Due to this high mortality, the disease has a significant impact on low-income countries. In West Africa, ASF was first reported in 1978 in Senegal and spread to Ivory Coast in 1996, followed by Cape Verde, Togo, and Nigeria in 1997, Benin and Ghana in 1999, and Burkina Faso in 2003 [3,4,5,6,7]. In 2018 alone, Benin, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Senegal, Bissau Guinea reported 79 outbreaks [8]
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