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ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology

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A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 4502

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Douglas Gladue

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Guest Editor

Seek Labs, 350 W 800 N Suite 220, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, USA
Interests: ASFV; CSFV; PRRSV; PEDV; PDCoV; SwIV; FMDV; swine viruses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

African swine fever is currently causing a pandemic and continuing to spread and evolve throughout the world. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes the submission of articles that address the discovery or evaluation of countermeasures such as vaccines or therapeutics, articles that address the alteration of the virus or host to changes in pathogenesis, and epidemiology studies that track the disease in historical or current outbreaks.

Dr. Douglas P. Gladue
Guest Editor

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Keywords

ASF
african swine fever
swine
countermeasures
therapeutics
pathogenesis and epidemiology

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1728 KB

Open AccessArticle

Active Participatory Surveillance for Early Detection of Notifiable Pathogens: A Case Study of the U.S. Swine Industry

by Berenice Munguía-Ramírez, Giovani Trevisan, Paul Morris, Gustavo S. Silva, Danyang Zhang, Chong Wang, Rodger Main and Jeffrey Zimmerman

Viruses 2026, 18(4), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18040478 - 20 Apr 2026

Viewed by 376

Abstract

The continued global spread of WOAH-listed pathogens via trade, transport, and travel calls for the implementation of biosecurity measures to protect the health of our national livestock industries, plus ongoing surveillance to verify that such measures are operative. Despite this urgency, surveillance must be practical and affordable. Herein, we evaluated the performance and cost of participatory surveillance, a nontraditional surveillance design, using the U.S. swine industry as an example. In this context, “participatory” meant that herd veterinarians and/or producers collected and submitted samples from the herd to accredited laboratories for testing. To create an infected population (Phase 1), we simulated the introduction and spread of an unspecified notifiable pathogen within the 48 contiguous U.S states (66,637 swine farms, within 8,080,470 km²) using the USDA Animal Disease Spread Model software (v3.5.10.0). In Phase 2, we calculated the probability of detecting ≥1 infected farm as a function of producer participation, farm-level sensitivity, farm-level prevalence, and sampling frequency. The participatory design was effective: ≥90% probability of detecting the notifiable pathogen at 0.05% farm prevalence (33 positive farms among 66,637 farms) when farm-level sensitivity was ≥20% and producer participation was ≥40%. Depending on the specimen collected, the shipment method, and the test selected, costs ranged from $0.03 to $0.07 USD (€0.02 to €0.06) per pig in inventory. Thus, a surveillance design based on collecting and testing specimens from a few targeted pigs on each of many farms would be both affordable and effective at a national level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology)

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17 pages, 2674 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Spatiotemporal Classification of Eurasian Circulating African Swine Fever Virus Genotype II into Topotypes and Genetic Lineages

by Roman Chernyshev, Alexey Igolkin, Sergey V. Shcherbinin and Alexander V. Sprygin

Viruses 2026, 18(3), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18030346 - 12 Mar 2026

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Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) has been a persistent threat to Eurasian pig populations since its emergence in 2007. The disease has become endemic in numerous countries, including Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Italy, the Philippines, and several others. Epidemiological data reveals that over 99% of outbreaks are attributed to a highly virulent hemadsorbing virus belonging to genotype II. Traditional genotyping methods, primarily relying on the B646L gene, have faced significant limitations in providing a comprehensive understanding of virus dissemination patterns. Previous attempts to identify a universal marker for tracking virus spread through analysis of the CVR locus of the B602L gene and the I73R/I329L locus failed to produce a coherent picture of the virus’s geographical distribution across Eurasia. To address these challenges, a comprehensive study was conducted involving the analysis of 250 ASFV isolates/strains from 25 countries across Europe and Asia between 2007 and 2024. This research led to the development of a novel sub-genotyping algorithm for ASFV genotype II. The study identified four topotypes: «CAU1», «EU1», «EU2», and «ASIA1». Within these topotypes, 31 genetic lineages were detected, each characterized by specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Based on the comparison of two methods of sub-genotyping Eurasian ASFVs—the classification by Gallardo C. et al. (2023) based on genetic variations of 6 loci, and the proposed classification into topotypes and genetic lineages using whole-genomes—it was established that the multigenic approach has insufficient resolution. At the same time, significant differences were observed at the level of whole-genomes. The creation of a new spatiotemporal classification has significant applications in international surveillance of ASF outbreaks, local disease monitoring, and investigation of new infection cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology)

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18 pages, 2910 KB

Open AccessArticle

ASFV MGF110-7L Inhibits eIF4G1 Expression via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress to Block Host Translation

by Xinyu Gao, Suduo Jiang, Liyan Zhang, Zhenqiu Gao, Lijie Xiao and Hongwei Cao

Viruses 2026, 18(2), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18020229 - 12 Feb 2026

Viewed by 726

Abstract

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious and lethal double-stranded DNA virus that relies on host cellular translation machinery for replication and immune evasion. The multigene family 110 (MGF110) contains several members with incompletely defined functions. Here, the role of MGF110-7L in host translation regulation was investigated in HEK-293T and PK15 cells. Ribopuromycylation assays demonstrated that MGF110-7L expression resulted in potent, dose- and time-dependent inhibition of nascent polypeptide synthesis. Western blotting revealed a selective reduction in eIF4G1 protein abundance, with no significant changes in eIF4G2, eIF4E, and eIF4A, while eIF4G1 mRNA levels remained unaffected, indicating post-transcriptional regulation. Overexpression of eIF4G1 partially rescued translation suppression. MGF110-7L also decreased eIF4B phosphorylation and activated the PERK/eIF2α pathway, consistent with the induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. ER stress promoted stress granule (SG) formation and enhanced eIF4G1 association with the SG marker G3BP1. The inhibitor assays demonstrated that the suppression of eIF2α phosphorylation by ISRIB restored the abundance of eIF4G1 protein. In addition, the downregulation of eIF4G1 was reversed by the inhibition of autophagy using bafilomycin A1, indicating an SG-linked autophagy–lysosome degradation pathway. Co-immunoprecipitation assays confirmed increased eIF4G1-G3BP1 interaction, but no direct binding between MGF110-7L and eIF4G1. This work provides the first experimental evidence that an ASFV protein, MGF110-7L, suppresses cap-dependent translation through SG-mediated autophagic degradation of eIF4G1, thereby revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism of ASFV translational control. These findings not only extend current understanding of ASFV–host interactions but also suggest potential molecular targets for antiviral strategies and rational vaccine design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology)

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14 pages, 5231 KB

Open AccessArticle

Emergence of African Swine Fever in Sri Lanka, 2024

by Aruna Ambagala, Sumathy Puvanendiran, Bhagya Jayathilake, Kalhari Goonewardene, Orie Hochman, Indika Benaragama, Chukwunonso Onyilagha, Gabriel Brawerman, Dustin Maydaniuk, Carissa Embury-Hyatt, Estella Moffat, Anthony V. Signore, Eranga De Seram, Keshan Jayawardana, Thushari Gunawardana, Pradeep Kumarawadu, Kavindra Wijesundera and Hemal Kothalawala

Viruses 2026, 18(2), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18020157 - 24 Jan 2026

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Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread, threatening the global swine industry and endangered swine species. Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated south of India in the Indian Ocean. Here, we report the first detection of ASF in Sri Lanka. In September 2024, increased pig mortality was reported across the country, with initial confirmation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Despite vaccination for PRRS, the mortalities continued to increase and therefore, tissue samples collected from dead pigs were subjected to ASF real-time PCR. ASFV genomic material was detected in most of the samples. The real-time PCR-positive samples were then subjected to genotyping by partial genome sequencing. All p72 and p54 sequences were found to be aligned with ASFV genotype II viruses, and CD2v sequences were found to be aligned with ASFV serogroup 8 viruses. The real-time PCR-positive samples were inoculated onto primary porcine leukocytes for virus isolation, and a selected number of tissues collected from dead pigs were subjected to histopathology. Histopathological studies revealed widespread loss of lymphocytes together with inflammation and extensive staining of ASFV antigens in tissue samples. Hemadsorption (HAD)-positive isolates were obtained from seven clinical samples, and three of them were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Phylogeographic analysis of the whole-genome sequences showed that the virus is closely related to ASFV strains circulating in China and Hong Kong. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology)

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16 pages, 4571 KB

Open AccessArticle

Kinetics of Viral Genome Distribution in Swine Peripheral Lymphoid Organs Following Oronasal Infection with Attenuated African swine fever virus strains

by Kalhari Goonewardene, Carissa Embury-Hyatt, Estella Moffat and Aruna Ambagala

Viruses 2025, 17(11), 1472; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17111472 - 4 Nov 2025

Viewed by 900

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread across the globe, causing a severe impact on the swine industry. Passive surveillance based on testing dead pigs is one of the most effective methods for early detection of ASF incursions. We have previously shown that the superficial inguinal lymph node (SILN) is a convenient and effective sample type for ASF virus (ASFV) genome detection in pigs succumbed to highly or moderately virulent ASFV infections. In this study, we explored the distribution kinetics of ASFV into SILN and other lymphoid tissues in pigs exposed to moderately virulent ASFV strains (ASFV Estonia 2014 and ASFV Malta’78), oronasally. The ASFV genome was detected in SILNs as early as 2–3 days post-infection (dpi), peaking around 5–9 dpi. The detection of ASFV Estonia 2014 started early, and the pigs succumbed to infection faster compared to the ASFV Malta’78 infected pigs that remained longer. All pigs that succumbed to ASF had comparable levels of ASFV genomic material in the spleen and SILNs. The levels of ASFV genomic material gradually started to decrease in pigs that did not succumb to ASF, indicating possible virus clearance. In contrast, ASFV genome levels in blood and spleen samples remained relatively steady during the study period. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization of spleen and SILN samples supported real-time PCR results. This study demonstrates the distribution kinetics of moderately virulent ASFV in peripheral lymph nodes and highlights the utility of SILNs for dead pig screening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue ASFV Countermeasures, Pathogenesis, and Epidemiology)

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