Key result
Excavating ASFV-infected wild boar burial sites reveals viral genomes but yields no infectious virus.
Why the study?
It was questioned whether African swine fever virus survives in buried wild boar carcasses, which could act as a reservoir to maintain and spread disease.
Population
Carcasses of ASFV infected wild boar from twenty burial sites in Lithuania
Design
Observational excavation study
Authors
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Buried wild boar carcasses unlikely to sustain infectious ASFV; leaves open alternative transmission sources for ongoing cycles.
Observational (n=20)
The study unexpectedly negates the long-term persistence of infectious ASFV in buried wild boar carcasses, suggesting alternative infection sources are needed to explain the infection cycle.
Zani et al. (2020) conducted an observational in African swine fever (n=20). Burial of carcasses was evaluated on Isolation of infectious ASFV from carcass samples. Excavation of 20 burial sites of ASFV-infected wild boar revealed viral genome in 17 sites, but infectious ASFV could not be isolated from any carcass samples.