African Swine Fever Virus: Can Current Research Lead to Vaccine Development?

Abstract

Globally, African swine fever has had a major economic impact, yet it was first described only in the 1920s. Several factors, including the presence of the virus in wildlife reservoirs, its persistence in pigs which recover from the disease, its stability in pork products, and lack of a vaccine, contribute to the difficulties in controlling this devastating disease. Some countries have even resorted to killing their entire pig population to rid themselves of the disease. The recently completed sequence of the entire virus genome produced many surprises and boosted research efforts. The details of how the virus enters and replicates within the host's cells, the devious strategies it uses to evade host defence systems, which of the virus's many proteins are important in causing an effective host immune response, and the protective immune mechanisms involved, are now beginning to be understood. This information will help in the design of novel disease control strategies.