Survival of African Swine Fever Virus in Excretions from Pigs Experimentally Infected with the Georgia 2007/1 Isolate

Abstract

SummaryAfrican swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a lethal haemorrhagic disease of swine which can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals and their excretions or indirect contact with contaminated fomites. The shedding of ASFV by infected pigs and the stability of ASFV in the environment will determine the extent of environmental contamination. The recent outbreaks of ASF in Europe make it essential to develop disease transmission models in order to design effective control strategies to prevent further spread of ASF. In this study, we assessed the shedding and stability of ASFV in faeces, urine and oral fluid from pigs infected with the Georgia 2007/1 ASFV isolate. The half‐life of infectious ASFV in faeces was found to range from 0.65 days when stored at 4°C to 0.29 days when stored at 37°C, while in urine it was found to range from 2.19 days (4°C) to 0.41 days (37°C). Based on these half‐lives and the estimated dose required for infection, faeces and urine would be estimated to remain infectious for 8.48 and 15.33 days at 4°C and 3.71 and 2.88 days at 37°C, respectively. The half‐life of ASFV DNA was 8 to 9 days in faeces and 2 to 3 days in oral fluid at all temperatures. In urine, the half‐life of ASFV DNA was found to be 32.54 days at 4°C decreasing to 19.48 days at 37°C. These results indicate that ASFV in excretions may be an important route of ASFV transmission.

Epidemiological analyses of African swine fever in the Baltic States and Poland

“…The shedding and stability of ASFV in faeces, urine and oral fluid from pigs infected with the Georgia 2007/1 ASFV isolate has been assessed (Davies et al., ). The half‐life of infectious ASFV in faeces was found to range from 0.65 days at 4°C and 0.29 days at 37°C.…”

The Disinfection Characteristics of Ebola Virus Outbreak Variants

“…Such a measure may be misleading as vRNA detection cannot be used to confirm recovery of infectious virus particles and time of disinfection to time of sampling varies greatly. In addition, a few studies have demonstrated that genetic material is recovered much more efficiently than infectious virus particles for Ebola816 and African swine fever17 viruses. These biases suggest that vRNA can potentially be detected in the absence of infectious virus, making tissue culture infection a better standard for disinfection efficacy.…”

Gaps in African swine fever: Analysis and priorities

“…At the same time, non‐invasive sampling methods are lacking, which are especially important for ASF control in northern Europe. Samples obtained through non‐invasive sampling methods such as oral fluid and faeces allow ASFV and anti‐ASFV antibodies detection (Davies et al., ; De Carvalho Ferreira, Weesendorp, Quak, Stegeman, & Loeffen, ; Giménez‐Lirola et al., ; Mur et al., ; Nieto‐Pelegrín, Rivera‐Arroyo, & Sánchez‐Vizcaíno, ). Commercial tests based on oral fluid are already available for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome as well as sampling guidelines for oral fluid‐based survey on grouped‐housed animals (Rotolo et al., ).…”