African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral disease affecting pigs and wild boar first described in Kenya in 1921 by Eustace Montgomery. The new era of ASF began in 2007 in Georgia and since then has been transmitted to numerous European and Asian countries.
African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is known to be transmitted directly through contact with infected pigs, and indirectly through feeding infected meat/products. The virus also infects ticks of the Ornithodoros genus, which likely act as vectors.
Still very little is known about transmission of ASFV by insects, arthropods or rodents, particularly in European countries. A number of papers have identified the possible role of flies from the Stomoxys spp. and flies of the Tabanidae family in ASFV transmission, and there is also evidence regarding the possibility of virus transmission by hard ticks in wild boar populations in Europe. Another possibility is mechanical transmission of ASFV between closely located farms by rodents.
With a mortality rate of up to 100%, the disease not only affects animal health and welfare, but has a devastating effect on farming economies and threatens food security worldwide. Further research into prevention and control measures, vaccines and effective treatment options is needed to stop the spread of the disease.
This Article Collection aims to provide a set of high-quality papers focusing on lessons learnt from African Swine Fever research, with particular emphasis on possible transmission routes and ASF spread worldwide.
Possible sub-topics include, but are not limited to:
- African Swine Fever transmission
- African Swine Fever vectors and reservoirs
- African Swine Fever prevention and vaccines
- African Swine Fever diagnosis and treatment
- African Swine Fever pathophysiology
All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board.
Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.
The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 29 February 2024.
Please contact Millie Powell at [email protected] with any queries regarding this Article Collection.
Article Collection Guest Advisor(s)
Prof. Grzegorz Jan Woźniakowski, PhD, ScD, is the Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Invasive Diseases and Veterinary Administration at the Nicolaus Copernius University in Toruń, Poland. He is a microbiologist, virologist, professor, habilitated doctor of agricultural sciences, discipline of veterinary medicine (2020) with a specialty in veterinary virology and biotechnology. He was the head of the Department of Pig Diseases from November 2018 to the end of October 2020 at the National Veterinary Institute - National Research Institute in Puławy, Poland. Since November 2020, he has been employed as Professor in the Department of Diagnostics and Clinical Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Medicine at the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland.
