African swine fever: Latest Update on the ASForce Project in Rome

The ASForce* working group has been working since 2012 to improve understanding of African swine fever (ASF), which poses a growing threat to Europe and all countries with a swine industry. Its spread within the European Union, as well as the deteriorating situation in sub-Saharan Africa, is a cause for concern among at-risk countries and international organizations.  Since its emergence in Georgia in 2007, African swine fever (ASF) has gradually spread throughout the region, despite prevention and control efforts, affecting the countries of the Caucasus, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, and, since 2014, the European Union (the Baltic states and Poland). Launched in September 2012, the ASForce* project—a three-year consortium funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program—is conducting targeted research on the disease. It has led to a number of advances in understanding ASF in Europe and in the development of control strategies, as well as prevention and control tools. Composed of a multidisciplinary scientific team of eighteen partners (including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO), ASForce aims to provide veterinarians, pig farmers, and governments with practical solutions and preventive measures against the disease. As the project nears its conclusion (it ends in September 2015), a workshop was held on March 10 at FAO headquarters in Rome, bringing together representatives from veterinary services in Southern and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain). The goal was to share with them the progress made through ASForce in understanding ASF, while providing participants with a platform to discuss issues related to the organization of prevention and emergency plans at the national level. A similar workshop had been held in Berlin for Northern European countries two weeks earlier. In Rome, the consortium partners presented the key achievements in ASForce’s various research areas.

• ASF Prevention, Control, and Eradication Plans: improved characterization of the swine industry and animal movements, updating the epidemiological status and genetic characteristics of the disease, evaluating surveillance and control programs, modeling disease dynamics, conducting economic assessments of ASF control scenarios, and drafting guidelines for managing prevention costs.
• Wild boar–domestic pig interactions: improving knowledge of ASF epidemiology in wild boars, their interactions with domestic pigs, and the potential role of soft ticks in the disease’s epidemiology.
• Development of protective tools: ongoing development of vaccine candidates, as well as more effective diagnostic tests (including an ELISA test that detects antibodies much earlier after infection).
• Training and knowledge updates: distribution of a leaflet on ASF translated into eight languages, organization of workshops on the disease in several countries (approximately 100 veterinarians trained), and interactive online courses on the ASForce website.

  In addition, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presented its latest risk assessment work on African swine fever**. Participants also shared their experiences regarding the current status of disease prevention and control in their countries and had the opportunity to discuss these issues with ASForce experts. http://asforce.org/ * Scientific Opinion on African swine fever, EFSA Journal, 2014;12(4):3628. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/fr/efsajournal/doc/3628.pdf