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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021

Detection of African swine fever virus in free-ranging wild boar in Southeast Asia

Denstedt, Emily; Porco, Alice; Hwang, Jusun; Nga, Nguyen Thi Thanh; Ngoc, Pham Thi Bich; Chea, Sokha; Khammavong, Kongsy; Milavong, Phonesavanh; Sours, Sreyem; Osbjer, Kristina; Tum, Sothyra; Douangngeun, Bounlom; Theppanya, Watthana; Long, Nguyen Van; Thanh Phuong, Nguyen; Tin Vinh Quang, Le; Hung, Vo Van; Hoa, Nguyen Thi; Anh, Dao Le; Fine, Amanda;
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Abstract

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease affecting both domestic and wild suids. The virus was introduced to Southeast Asia in early 2019 and has since spread rapidly throughout the region. Although significant efforts have been made to track and diagnose the disease in domestic pigs, very little is known about ASF in free-ranging wild boar and their potential role in maintaining the disease within Southeast Asia. Through a collaboration between government and non-government actors in Laos, Viet Nam, and Cambodia, investigations were conducted to (a) characterize the interface between domestic pigs and wild boar, (b) document risk factors for likely ASF spillover into wild boar populations by way of this interface, and (c) determine whether ASF in wild boar could be detected in each country. An extensive overlap between wild boar habitat and domestic pig ranging areas was found around villages bordering forests in all three countries, creating a high-risk interface for viral spillover between domestic pig and wild boar populations. Fifteen and three wild boar carcasses were detected through passive reporting in Laos and Viet Nam, respectively, in 2019 and early 2020. Four of five carcasses screened in Laos and two of three in Viet Nam were confirmed positive for African swine fever virus using real-time PCR. There were no confirmed reports of wild boar carcasses in Cambodia. This is the first confirmation of ASF in wild boar in Southeast Asia, the result of a probable viral spillover from domestic pigs, which highlights the importance of early reporting and monitoring of ASF in wild boar to enable the implementation of appropriate biosecurity measures.

Keywords

African swine fever; ASF; livestock-wildlife interface; outbreak; Southeast Asia; spillover; wild boar

Published in

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
2021, volume: 68, number: 5, pages: 2669-2675
Publisher: WILEY

Authors' information

Denstedt, Emily
Wildlife Conservation Society
Porco, Alice
Wildlife Conservation Society
Hwang, Jusun
Wildlife Conservation Society
Nga, Nguyen Thi Thanh
Wildlife Conservat Soc
Ngoc, Pham Thi Bich
Wildlife Conservat Soc
Chea, Sokha
Wildlife Conservat Soc
Khammavong, Kongsy
Wildlife Conservation Society
Milavong, Phonesavanh
Wildlife Conservation Society
Sours, Sreyem
Wildlife Conservat Soc
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
Tum, Sothyra
Cambodian Natl Anim Hlth and Prod Res Inst
Douangngeun, Bounlom
Department of Livestock and Fisheries
Theppanya, Watthana
Department of Livestock and Fisheries
Long, Nguyen Van
Minist Agr and Rural Dev Viet Nam
Thanh Phuong, Nguyen
Reg Anim Hlth Off 6
Tin Vinh Quang, Le
Reg Anim Hlth Off 6
Hung, Vo Van
Reg Anim Hlth Off 6
Hoa, Nguyen Thi
Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA)
Anh, Dao Le
Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA)
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UKÄ Subject classification

Pathobiology

Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13964

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/110451