Advanced scientific developments to combat ASF: what's new

African swine fever ( ASF ) is the scourge of the modern pig industry due to its high mortality rate, which causes forced mass slaughter of livestock. The virus spreads quickly and easily, transmitted through contact between infected animals, infected MEAT, feed, and transport. Rapid transmission of the virus leads to outbreaks within farms and between different regions or countries.

The destruction of infected animals and the introduction of quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the virus result in significant financial losses for pig farmers and pork traders. Due to the risk of ASF spreading to foreign markets, some countries may restrict imports of pork from infected regions, and in global flows, many countries are exporters or importers of pork. Thus, in the United States, pork EXPORT is one of the economically important sectors of trade. If ASF occurs, it will have a very negative impact on the economic stability of the American hog industry. In this regard, a number of scientific projects to combat ASF are being implemented in the United States.

Researchers at Arizona State University are working to develop portable electronic sensors that could be used around the world in areas where African swine fever is common to quickly and accurately detect specific ASF antibodies and antigens, which should help contain the virus. The goal of the project is to develop and validate a new metal nanoparticle-based assay platform and determine how effective this approach is as a diagnostic tool for ASF. 

At Virginia Tech , scientists are developing a nanosensor specifically for pig farms. Using the tool, the ASF virus should be quickly detected by a color signal. Thus, any employee will see the warning signal without the need to install additional equipment.

Researchers at the Pig HEALTH Information Center are working to reduce the risk of contamination from imported feed ingredients that serve as vectors for ASF. They are studying how stable the ASF virus is in soy products commonly used in swine feed, as well as ways to improve diagnostic capabilities and surveillance tools for detecting ASF virus in contaminated soy products and feeds.

There is currently no safe, effective, or commercially available vaccine against ASF in the United States. The complexity of the virus, combined with limited understanding of the proteins that promote immunity, has hampered progress in vaccine development. A research team from Kansas State University tested several vaccine candidates and concluded that development of an ASF vaccine is possible with further understanding of the specifics of the virus. 

Meanwhile, University of Nebraska scientists documented that pigs vaccinated with their live attenuated vaccine were protected from the deadly ASF virus infection, while pigs vaccinated with the inactivated vaccine became ill. As a result, researchers have identified several viral proteins that can be used as antigens to develop a subunit, that is, less allergenic vaccine with only surface antigens against ASF.

Scientists at Cornell University are working to identify ASF viral proteins that promote host immune responses and to identify functions important for immune defense. Their research will provide the basis for future vaccine development.

Veterinary experts at the University of Illinois are gathering important fundamental information about the protective antigens of ASF, and scientists at Louisiana State University are developing three prototype ASF vaccines and then testing their effectiveness.