African swine fever circulating in Europe linked to earlier introduction, not new outbreak

A examine in Genome Biology and Evolution finds that the African Swine Fever virus, at the moment circulating in Europe, isn’t the results of a latest introduction. As an alternative, the virus has been current within the area since 2007. Its present dramatic unfold seems to be pushed largely by individuals inside Europe touring longer distances. The paper is titled “Exploiting viral DNA genomes to discover the dispersal historical past of African swine fever genotype II lineages in Europe.”

African Swine Fever virus is a extremely virulent DNA virus that causes a extreme hemorrhagic illness of the identical identify, affecting each home pigs and wild boars. The illness is characterised by excessive mortality charges, resulting in important financial losses within the pork business.

In line with estimates from the Meals and Agriculture Group, the virus has led to roughly $2.1 billion in direct financial losses over the previous 17 years. Moreover, the outbreak has destroyed many small and medium-sized farms, contributing to structural transformations in agricultural markets, notably in China. Presently, there isn’t any vaccine in opposition to the virus accessible extensively.

Initially restricted to the sub-Saharan African area, the virus (particularly genotype II) unfold globally and is now a serious concern in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Pacific and, extra lately, the Caribbean. In 2024, the World Group for Animal Well being reported African Swine Fever virus outbreaks in seven European nations, with over a million pigs misplaced since 2022.

The researchers right here analyzed ten samples from home pigs and wild boar, collected between July 26, 2016, and August 23, 2019, as a part of the State Meals and Veterinary Service of the Republic of Lithuania surveillance actions in Lithuania. From these samples, they generated full genome sequences of African Swine Fever Virus.

Researchers used these new sequences to broaden the present dataset of African Swine Fever Virus genomes genotype II and examine the unfold of the virus throughout the European continent.

The evaluation exhibits the African Swine Fever Virus genotype II now circulating in Europe shares a single widespread ancestor with these circulating in Africa, with no proof of latest viral exchanges between the 2 continents. Sequences from Europe are carefully associated to one another and a few nations, notably Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Germany, seem to have performed necessary roles within the regional unfold of the virus throughout the continent.

“African swine fever virus continues to threaten home pig and wild boar populations in Europe,” mentioned the paper’s lead writer, Christopher Netherton. “Every viral genome we sequence helps to deepen our understanding of the virus‘s circulation dynamics.”