Issue:
The global spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in recent years poses a tremendous risk to swine production in the U.S. as well as to associated agricultural industries and communities. With the recent spread of ASFV into the Western hemisphere, the risk continues to increase. Previous research has demonstrated that ASFV can be spread by movement of live animals, animal products such as meat, and a wide variety of surfaces that may have come in contact with ASFV (e.g., shipping containers, vehicles, and personnel). However, the methodology used to detect environmental contamination with viruses such as ASFV has not been clearly established using a scientific approach.
Objective:
Develop and validate sampling methods for ASFV on various surfaces, representative of surfaces on which the virus could potentially enter the United States and threaten U.S. agricultural systems.
Value Proposition:
The results from this project will enable recommendations for best practices for environmental sampling based on a scientific approach. These practical methods will be used to inform accurate determination of risk levels and validate decontamination procedures for a variety of surface types found on transport containers and vehicles entering the U.S. that pose a biological threat to national security. Given the substantial impact ASFV would have on the U.S. (estimated to be $15 to 50 billion USD; Carriquiry et al., 2020), the ability to identify contaminated surfaces to enact additional biosecurity measures would be a tremendous asset to combat the risk of virus introduction. Such validated methods would be a critical tool to be used by DHS to assess risk and identify potential biosecurity gaps which pose a threat to our swine industry and national security.
| Project Lead | Kansas State University Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology and Department of Animal Sciences and Industry |
| Research Team | PI: Jordan Gebhardt, DVM, Ph.D., Kansas State University Co-PI: Natasha Gaudreault, Kansas State University Co-PI: Juergen Richt, DVM, Ph.D., Kansas State University Co-PI: Cassie Jones, Kansas State University Co-PI: Jason Woodworth, Kansas State University Co-PI: Chad Paulk, Kansas State University |
| Budget | $334,865 |
| Duration | Dec. 2022 – Dec.2024 |