Abstract
African Swine Fever (ASF) has been spreading in numerous southeast Asian countries since a major incursion in mainland China in 2018. Timor-Leste confirmed an outbreak of ASF in September 2019 which resulted in high mortalities in affected pigs. Pigs in Timor-Leste are the second most common type of livestock kept by villagers and represent a traditionally important source of income and prestige for householders. In order to understand the extent of ASF infected villages in Timor-Leste a prevalence survey was designed and conducted in November-December 2019. Timor-Leste has limited laboratory facilities and access to qPCR diagnostic tests. Therefore, a loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was used to detect ASF positive blood samples collected during the prevalence survey. The LAMP assay was proven to be a robust, highly specific and sensitive laboratory test for ASF suitable for use in the field and where there are limited laboratory facilities. The results of the prevalence survey allowed the extent of the ASF incursion to be delineated and the introduction of a disease response strategy to limit the spread of ASF and assist in the recovery of the pig population in Timor-Leste.
Highlights
African swine fever in pigs, caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), has been spreading through countries in southeast Asia since a major incursion in mainland China in August 2018 [1]
It was considered probable that if a pig in a village became infected with ASFV it was likely that multiple pigs within the village would become infected in a short period of time and that a village with ASFV infected pigs represented a suitable unit of interest for the prevalence survey design
Of the remaining 436 samples, 59 samples tested positive to ASFV using loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and 377 samples were negative
Summary
African swine fever in pigs, caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), has been spreading through countries in southeast Asia since a major incursion in mainland China in August 2018 [1]. The ASF Prevalence in Timor-Leste 2019 virus is able to survive for extended periods in infected carcasses, uncooked meat products and environments or equipment contaminated by infective material, resulting in disease transmission and new incursions across much greater distances, including across international boundaries [1, 3]. Numbers per holding are typically small (usually 1–4) and most commonly < 10 animals [4, 5] They are an important source of income and prestige for villagers and are used and traded in traditional celebrations and other gatherings and exchanges [4]. The impact of the mortalities associated with an uncontrolled ASF incursion is high in traditional villages, as there is frequently no ready source of alternative incomes and/or industry support [4, 6, 7]
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