The soft tick ornithodoros moubata and its role in the epidemiology of African swine fever in Central Malawi
The soft tick ornithodoros moubata and its role in the epidemiology of African swine fever in Central Malawi
African swine fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease of pigs (Sus scrofa) caused by a double-stranded DNA virus, African swine fever virus (ASFV). With up to 100% mortality in pigs and no vaccine, the socioeconomic impacts of this disease are immense. In sub-Saharan Africa, warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) are the original vertebrate host for the virus, which is transmitted among wild suids via the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata. In Malawi, O. moubata is thought to be widely distributed, with the potential to spread ASFV beyond its historical enzootic zone in the Central Region. We surveyed 76 domestic pig farms, 18 active warthog burrows, and three bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) resting sites for O. moubata in the Central Region of Malawi, and tested the ticks for ASFV using PCR. We found a limited distribution for O. moubata: 75 ticks were discovered at a single farm in the Mchinji District. Eleven percent of these ticks were ASFV positive. This suggests that wildlife and O. moubata play a limited role in the epidemiology of ASF in Malawi; thus, other factors for disease spread, such as fomites and pig-to-pig infection, need to be considered.
African swine fever, Malawi, Ornithodoros, Phacochoerus africanus, Potamochoerus larvatus, bushpig, epidemiology, warthog
465-471
Anholt, Heather
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Hillman, Vicky
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Vaughan, Jonathon
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Smyth, Neil
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30 June 2023
Anholt, Heather
ddb0c717-e10a-4b3c-a0ce-41f59818a4ba
Hillman, Vicky
2f9a1e5e-53f6-44e3-8d4b-36ec281fc653
Vaughan, Jonathon
f050be49-7f7e-4008-9d47-a8a6f2eda822
Smyth, Neil
0eba2a40-3b43-4d40-bb64-621bd7e9d505
Anholt, Heather, Hillman, Vicky, Vaughan, Jonathon and Smyth, Neil
(2023)
The soft tick ornithodoros moubata and its role in the epidemiology of African swine fever in Central Malawi.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 59 (3), .
(doi:10.7589/JWD-D-22-00090).
Abstract
African swine fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease of pigs (Sus scrofa) caused by a double-stranded DNA virus, African swine fever virus (ASFV). With up to 100% mortality in pigs and no vaccine, the socioeconomic impacts of this disease are immense. In sub-Saharan Africa, warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) are the original vertebrate host for the virus, which is transmitted among wild suids via the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata. In Malawi, O. moubata is thought to be widely distributed, with the potential to spread ASFV beyond its historical enzootic zone in the Central Region. We surveyed 76 domestic pig farms, 18 active warthog burrows, and three bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) resting sites for O. moubata in the Central Region of Malawi, and tested the ticks for ASFV using PCR. We found a limited distribution for O. moubata: 75 ticks were discovered at a single farm in the Mchinji District. Eleven percent of these ticks were ASFV positive. This suggests that wildlife and O. moubata play a limited role in the epidemiology of ASF in Malawi; thus, other factors for disease spread, such as fomites and pig-to-pig infection, need to be considered.
Text
Anholt et al. 2023. 10.7589_jwd-d-22-00090
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Accepted/In Press date: 26 January 2023
Published date: 30 June 2023
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Publisher Copyright:
© Wildlife Disease Association 2023
Keywords:
African swine fever, Malawi, Ornithodoros, Phacochoerus africanus, Potamochoerus larvatus, bushpig, epidemiology, warthog
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 482484
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/482484
ISSN: 0090-3558
PURE UUID: b0eda954-4ac6-49d6-aac8-275ed295b006
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Date deposited: 09 Oct 2023 16:41
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:56
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Author:
Heather Anholt
Author:
Vicky Hillman
Author:
Jonathon Vaughan
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