Safe and efficient transportation of clinical samples for molecular detection of African swine fever virus

African swine fever (ASF) continues to devastate swine populations across the globe. The causative agent, ASF virus (ASFV), is very stable and can remain infectious over long periods of time especially in contaminated blood and tissue samples. Therefore, the transport of clinical samples from the field to diagnostic laboratories requires special precautions to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. Inactivation of ASFV in the clinical samples prior to transporting to the lab eliminates the risk and the requirement of higher biosafety facilities to perform ASF diagnostics. This study evaluated the use of a commercial molecular transport medium (MTM) to inactivate ASFV and stabilize the viral DNA in cell culture and clinical samples collected from pigs inoculated with different ASFV strains. In all the sample types tested, complete inactivation of ASFV was observed, without affecting the subsequent detection of ASFV genomic material by real time polymerase chain reaction (real time PCR). The MTM preserved the stability of ASFV genomic material eliminating the need to refrigerate clinical samples. The data shows that the MTM can be used reliably to ensure safety and stability of routine clinical samples such as whole blood, spleen swabs and alternative sample types such as oral fluid, allowing expansion and streamlining ASF molecular diagnostics.