Before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, African Swine Fever (ASF) had threatened the global swine industry and is still a threat to this day. African Swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs that is responsible for serious production and economic losses with mortality rates close to 100%. It is first reported in Kenya in 1921 following a high mortality in imported European pigs. For many years, the disease has been confined to Sub-Saharan Africa and few European countries. However, in 2018, It spreads to Asia as China reported its first case of ASF, and from 2018-2020 most of ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, have reported positive cases of ASF. ASF spreads thru 3 main routes: (1) direct contact with infected pigs, (2) ingestion of contaminated materials (food waste, feed or garbage) and (3) fomites and biological vectors (Ornithodoros spp.). Currently, there is no effective and approved vaccine for ASF as compared to other viral diseases of swine like classical swine fever (CSF), porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRS), porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), etc. The current diagnostic tests used for ASF detection are thru viral isolation, fluorescent antibody test (FAT), ELISA (antigen detection) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (Conventional or Real-time PCR). The advent of molecular biology and biotechnology may prove to be an exceptional tool to further understand the behavior of numerous pathogens including ASF. Furthermore, this may help to further develop products and tools that can be used to improve the ASF control and prevention. As ASF was confined in Sub-Saharan Africa and some European countries, there is a need to optimize and harmonize protocols for sample selection, sequencing, bioinformatics workflow and data documentation. Furthermore, Asfarviridae contains only one member and that is ASFV. There is a need to discover other viruses under this viral family, not only for evolutionary analysis but also for possibility to be used to prevent and control ASFv. Molecular biology and biotechnology can give us the glimpse and hints on the structural and behavioral characteristics of ASF virus (ASFv). This additional information may help regulatory disease agencies in crafting the best possible control and prevention measures to be applied in the field. Another, molecular biology and biotechnology are tools to be used to develop diagnostic test and kits that can help for a rapid, accurate, specific, sensitive and economical tests that can be used in the early course of disease to place proper measures to prevent further spread of disease from one place to another. This can be also used to further improve data collection and collation for molecular epidemiology of ASFv. Lastly, one of the goals to further prevent and control ASF is to develop effective vaccine. Thru molecular biology and biotechnology, new generations of vaccine can be developed to increase the efficiency and effectivity of the vaccine.
ISSN 2719-1990 (Print)
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