Research Progress on Etiology and Epidemiology of African Swine Fever
The emerging or prevalent outbreaks of African swine fever(ASF)have been reported in 29 countries/territories since 2019,its prevention and control has been concerned around the world due to the serious threats. In order to make clear the characteristics of African swine fever virus(ASFV),some new knowledge about the etiology and epidemiology found in recent years was summarized,that was,the virus was with strong resistance to outside conditions,except dryness,high temperature,strong acid and strong alkaline;its reservoir hosts might include flies in addition to domestic pigs,wild boars and soft ticks;the virus might spread via polluted feed and drinking water,especially the latter that needed to be highly concerned due to its risk level which was 10 000 times higher than that of polluted feed;in spite of various transmission pathways,it was the key to manage the movements of meat products,equipment or vehicles and personnel as well as environmental changes that were the major risk factors. As a conclusion,the study might contribute to the implementation of effective prevention and control measures through identifying all potential sources and transmission pathways of ASFV.