Evidence of aerosol transmission of African swine fever virus between two piggeries under field conditions: a case study

Xiaowen Li; Zhiqiang Hu; Mingyu Fan; Xiaogang Tian; Weisheng Wu; Wenchao Gao; Lujie Bian; Xiaoxue Jiang

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1201503

Evidence of aerosol transmission of African swine fever virus between two piggeries under field conditions: a case study

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Jun 1:10:1201503. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1201503. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xiaowen Li^{1

2

3

4}, Zhiqiang Hu^{1

2

3

4}, Mingyu Fan^{1

2

3

4}, Xiaogang Tian^{2

3}, Weisheng Wu¹, Wenchao Gao^{2

3

4}, Lujie Bian^{2

3}, Xiaoxue Jiang^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Xiajin New Hope Liuhe Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Dezhou, China.
² Shandong New Hope Liuhe Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology Co., Ltd. (NHLH Academy of Swine Research), Dezhou, China.
³ Shandong Engineering Laboratory of Pig and Poultry Healthy Breeding and Disease Diagnosis Technology, Qingdao, China.
⁴ China Agriculture Research System-Yangling Comprehensive Test Station, Xianyang, China.

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating and economically significant infectious disease that has caused enormous losses in the commercial pig sector in China since 2018. The primary transmission routes of the African swine fever virus (ASFV), the causative agent of ASF, are direct pig-to-pig contact or indirect contact with virus-contaminated objects. While aerosol transmission of ASFV has been previously reported under experimental conditions, no reports have described it under field conditions. In this case study, aerosol-associated samples were collected over a monitoring period of 24 days in an ASFV-positive farm. A complete and clear chain of ASFV transmission through aerosols was observed: pigs in Room A on Day 0-aerosol in Room A on Day 6-dust of air outlets in Room A on Day 9-outdoor aerosols on Day 9-dust of air inlets in Room B on Day 15-aerosols/pigs in Room B on Day 21. Furthermore, a fluorescent powder experiment confirmed the transmission of dust from Room A to Room B. This study represents the first report providing evidence of aerosol transmission of ASFV under field conditions. Further research is needed to study the laws of aerosol transmission in ASFV and develop effective strategies such as air filtration or disinfection to create a low-risk environment with fresh air for pig herds.

Keywords: ASFV; aerosol; air inlet; air outlet; dust.