Home African Swine Fever [Vector] Assessing the relevance of ticks in ASF epidemiology
African Swine Fever roadmap:
Control Strategies

Roadmap for the development of control strategies for ASF

Download ASF Control Strategy Roadmap

11

Vector

Vector

Research Question

  • There is an important need to identify if the ticks in an affected region (where ASF outbreak occurred) could become biological vectors or not

Research Gaps and Challenges

  • Continuate molecular epidemiology studies to monitor soft tick distribution
  • Identify if the ticks in new geographical areas where ASF outbreak occur could become biological vectors or not.
  • Determine whether new ASFV isolates can productively infect local ticks and whether they become persistently infected
  • Research is needed to further understand the distribution of soft ticks
  • Investigated basic parameters governing host to host infection, including ticks
  • Develop tests for detecting ASFV in ticks

Dependencies

  • Implementation of tick surveillance programmes

State Of the Art

  • The presence/absence of arthropod vectors (i.e., tick species) in the affected area will impact the spread and maintenance of the virus in the environment. In sub-Saharan Africa, ASFV is maintained in a sylvatic cycle between warthogs and ticks of the genus Ornithodoros. In endemic areas of Africa, infected ticks and warthogs are the source of virus responsible for disease outbreaks in domestic swine
  • Acaricides for controlling the soft tick may not be useful as the tick lives off the host and burrows underground as well as in crevices in buildings
  • The best ASF control method is to remove the pigs from infected premises

Projects

What activities are planned or underway?

Africa's Long Depression: The Growth and Debt Crises of 1975-2000

Planned Completion date 01/03/2027

Participating Country(s):

United KingdomIconUnited Kingdom