Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) is a severe haemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs and wild boar with extremely high mortality rate. It is cataloged as a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The etiological agent that causes the highly lethal disease is the African swine fever virus (ASFV) (Sanchez-Vizcaino et al. 2015). ASFV is the only known member of the genus Asfivirus and family Asfarviridae. The family Asfarviridae belongs to the member of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) superfamily (Iyer et al. 2006; Costard et al. 2009). Overall, the ASFV virion presents an icosahedral morphology with a multilayered structure (Wang et al. 2019). The genome of ASFV is a large doublestranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule that varies in length from about 170 to 193 kilobase pairs and encodes between 150 and 167 open reading frames (ORFs) depending on the isolate (Dixon et al. 2013). In addition, ASFV also infects African wild suids, including warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) and bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus), which act as asymptomatic carriers. Soft ticks of the Ornithodoros moubata complex also serve as a natural reservoir and transmit the disease to suids. In East Africa, ASFV is maintained in an ancient sylvatic cycle involving warthogs and soft ticks (Ornithodoros genus) that inhabit their burrows (Jori et al. 2013).
Highlights
Dear Editor, African swine fever (ASF) is a severe haemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs and wild boar with extremely high mortality rate
The family Asfarviridae belongs to the member of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) superfamily (Iyer et al 2006; Costard et al 2009)
The genome of African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large doublestranded DNA molecule that varies in length from about 170 to 193 kilobase pairs and encodes between 150 and 167 open reading frames (ORFs) depending on the isolate (Dixon et al 2013)
Summary
Dear Editor, African swine fever (ASF) is a severe haemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs and wild boar with extremely high mortality rate. The genome of ASFV is a large doublestranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule that varies in length from about 170 to 193 kilobase pairs and encodes between 150 and 167 open reading frames (ORFs) depending on the isolate (Dixon et al 2013). Previous research has shown that variation between the genomes of diverse ASFV isolates results from gain or loss of members of multigene families (MGFs).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
