African Swine Fever Virus

E. VINuELA

1 Introduction 151
2 Geographical Distribution and Virus Isolates 152
3 The Virus Particle 153
3.1 Purification 153
3.2 Structure 154
3.3 Structural Proteins 154
3.4 Enzyme Activities 156
3.5 DNA 156
4 Virus-Cell Interactions 158
4.1 Cell Specificity 158
4.2 Penetration 159
4.3 Macromolecular Synthesis 160
5 Virus-Host Interaction 161
5.1 Host Range 161
5.2 Immunology 162
6 Classification 164
References 165

1 Introduction

African swine fever (ASF) is an important disease of domestic pigs produced

by an icosahedral deoxyvirus sensitive to lipid solvents, which has been classified
in the family lridoviridae (MATTHEWS 1982).
ASF virus is a menace to the pig population in the world because there
is no vaccine, the virus multiplies in ticks and changes form easily, and different
virus forms can produce diseases with different clinical symptoms or no disease
at all.
Since 1970, the following reviews on ASF have been published: HESS (1971),
COGGINS (1974), HESS (1981 a, b), WILKINSON (1981), and WARDLEYet al. (1983).
I shall attempt to cover for the reader recent developments on ASF virus,
with special emphasis on the molecular aspects of the virus particle and the
infection.
Centro de Biologia, Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma, Canto
Blanco, E-28049 Madrid

Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, Vol. 116

© Springer-Verlag Berlin· Heidelberg 1985
152 E. Viiiueia

2 Geographical Distribution and Virus Isolates

ASF was ftrst recognized as a distinct disease in 1910 when domestic pigs were
introduced in Kenya, where they could come in contact with wild swine. The
classical papers by MONTGOMERY (1921) described ASF as a peracute disease
characterized by fever, cyanosis, hemorrhages of the internal organs, and a
lethality close to 100%. MONTGOMERY recognized the viral nature of the disease,
its likely transmission from wild swine which probably acted as virus carriers,
and the lack of protection by passive immunization.
In 1957 the virus was found for the ftrst time outside Africa, in Portugal,
where the disease was apparently eradicated (MANSO RmEIRo et al. 1958). In
1960, ASF reappeared or was reintroduced in Portugal (MANSO RmEIRO and
ROSA AZEVEDO 1961) and spread to Spain (POLO JOVER and SANCHEZ BOTIJA
1961). In the 1960s and early 1970s the virus was found in Madeira (ANONYMOUS
1977), France (LARENAUDIE et al. 1964; GAYOT et al. 1974), Italy (MAZZARAC-
CHIO 1968), and Cuba (OROPESA 1971). In 1977 there were in Portugal and
Spain a number of ASF outbreaks, larger than in previous years, and in 1978
the disease appeared in Malta (WILKINSON et al. 1980), Sardinia (CONTINI et al.
1982), Brazil (MEBUS et al. 1978; DE PAULA LYRA 1982), the Dominican Re-
public (MEBUS et al. 1978; RIVERA 1982), and, in 1979, in Haiti. Early in 1980
ASF reappeared or was reintroduced in Cuba (SIMEON 1982). Figure 1 shows
the virus movements and the geographical distribution of the disease, and Ta-
ble 1 gives a list of ASF virus isolates.

FRANCE
1964
SPAIN
1960
PORTUGAL
1957,1960
MADEIRA •
1965
DOMINICAN

.'
"

ANGOLA
1932

TRANSVAAL
CAPE 1926
PROVINCE
1933

Fig. 1. Movement of ASF virus. The hatched areas indicate the countries where the virus is present