This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.
The Global African Swine Fever Research Alliance (GARA) aims to build worldwide research partnerships to tackle African Swine Fever (ASF). Their goals include identifying research opportunities, conducting diverse studies on ASF, assessing its societal and economic effects, developing new tools for prevention and control, evaluating their impact, and acting as a hub for communication and technology sharing in the global ASF research community. GARA fosters a coordinated effort leading to the progressive control and eradication of ASF. Their most recent scientific meetings, the 2025, took place in Rome, Italy, on April 2025. We have selected 2 abstracts from the proceedings book that we have included below.
The full proceedings can be found at: https://insights.crdfglobal.org/hubfs/USDA/GARA%202025%20Abstract%20Booklet%20Final.pdf?hsLang=en
Tongues and other alternative samples for the detection of African swine fever virus by PCR testing: fit for purpose and approval?
Linda Peeters, Jacob Post, Richard Draaijer, Tosca Ploegaert
Wageningen Bioveterinary Research
Several different alternative samples have been described for the detection of African swine fever virus (ASFV) by PCR-testing. To overcome practical and logistical challenges for the implementation of the continuous surveillance described in (EU)2023/594, samples which can be easily collected from dead pigs without opening the carcass are of specific interest. Therefore, the diagnostic sensitivity of tongue exudate, tongue tissue, nose swabs and ear punches were investigated and compared to target and alternative samples mentioned by the EURL. During necropsy of 11 pigs that died after ASFV challenge in different experimental studies, EDTA-blood, spleen, tonsil, tongue, blood swabs, nasal swabs, ears and the femur (for the collection of bone marrow) were collected. Part of the tongue tissue was prepared directly, the rest of the tongue was frozen overnight (-20°C). After thawing, the tongue exudate was collected using a swab. Two ear punches (Ø 4mm) were combined to one sample/pig. All samples were prepared and PCR-tested following standard protocols at WBVR. ASFV genomic material was detected with Ct-values <34 in all collected samples, resulting in a diagnostic sensitivity of 100% for all sample types. All samples mentioned by the EURL (EDTA-blood, spleen, tonsil, bone marrow and blood swab), as well as the nose swabs and tongue exudate swabs showed Ct-values <28.5. The mean Ct-values of EDTA-blood, spleen, bone marrow and tonsil were <22, the mean Ct-values of blood swabs, nose swabs and tongue exudate swabs were <25, the mean Ct-values of the ear punches and tongue tissue were <29. ASFV can be detected in several different samples which can be easily collected from dead pigs without opening the carcass. Considering these alternative samples fit for purpose and approving them might help EU-member states in the implementation of the continuous surveillance described in (EU)2023/594 and other diagnostic programs for the detection of ASFV.
Detection of ASFV in inspected carcasses cleared for public consumption in Kampala, Uganda
Ndoboli Dickson1, Nicholas Barigye2, Edward Mawanda3
- Central diagnostic Laboratory College of veterinary Medicine Makerere University
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources, and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Uganda
- Mukono district Local government, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and fisheries
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly fatal and contagious disease of pigs caused by the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), a DNA arbovirus of the family Asfarviridae. ASF is a highly devastating disease, with mortalities approaching 80-100 % among domestic pigs, thus constraining the pig industry and leading to poverty and food insecurity. Mitigating the dangers associated with ASF requires a robust surveillance program for early detection of potential sources of infection. Therefore, in this study, we set out to analyze the quality of pork inspection at the slaughterhouses by screening for ASF-positive carcasses among those pronounced healthy by official meat inspectors in three major city abattoirs in Kampala, Uganda. Five hundred carcasses were randomly selected from three abattoirs (Wambizzi, Lusanja, Budo) for 3 months (May, June, and July 2024). Spleen samples were collected and tested by real-time PCR to detect the ASF virus. Data shows that of the 500 carcass samples analyzed, 98 (19.6%) carcasses from the abattoirs studied were positive for ASFV. None of these pigs had clinical signs and lesions that included hemorrhages in the skin of ears, legs, and flanks, markedly enlarged and darkened spleen, and enlarged and diffusely hemorrhagic gastro-hepatic and renal lymph nodes. This data suggests an increased number of asymptomatic forms of ASFV in Uganda. Because these cases cannot be easily screened out by the naked eye of the meat inspector, there is an increased risk of spreading the virus in the community through purchased pork.