Silver nanoparticles as potential antiviral agents against African swine fever virus

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the cause of a highly contagious and fatal disease in domestic swine, but no vaccine or effective medicine is available so far, therefore, looking for a novel and effective anti-ASFV agent is a very imperative mission. Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) have been recently emerged as novel antiviral agents against numerous viruses, but, their antiviral activity against ASFV has not been investigated. In this study, the antiviral ability of SNPs against ASFV was reported. The microbial contamination in the pig house was significantly reduced by spraying the SNP solution 25 ppm. SNP solution with the concentration of 0.78 ppm does not show any toxicity to porcine alveolar macrophage cells; while completely inhibits ASFV at the titer of 103 HAD50. This study confirms that SNPs have a highly antiviral ability against ASFV and is a promising disinfectant that can be used to prevent the ASFV transmission.