Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
Department of Recombinant Vaccines, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk, Abrahama 58, 80-307 Gdańsk, Poland.
Viruses. 2021 Oct 14;13(10):2062. doi: 10.3390/v13102062.
African swine fever (ASF), caused by a DNA virus (ASFV) belonging to genus of the family, is one of the most threatening diseases of suids. During last few years, it has spread among populations of wild boars and pigs in countries of Eastern and Central Europe, causing huge economical losses. While local ASF occurrence is positively correlated with wild boar density, ecology of this species (social structure, movement behavior) constrains long-range disease transmission. Thus, it has been speculated that carnivores known for high daily movement and long-range dispersal ability, such as the wolf (), may be indirect ASFV vectors. To test this, we analyzed 62 wolf fecal samples for the presence of ASFV DNA, collected mostly in parts of Poland declared as ASF zones. This dataset included 20 samples confirmed to contain wild boar remains, 13 of which were collected near places where GPS-collared wolves fed on dead wild boars. All analyzed fecal samples were ASFV-negative. On the other hand, eight out of nine wild boar carcasses that were fed on by telemetrically studied wolves were positive. Thus, our results suggest that when wolves consume meat of ASFV-positive wild boars, the virus does not survive the passage through intestinal tract. Additionally, wolves may limit ASFV transmission by removing infectious carrion. We speculate that in areas where telemetric studies on large carnivores are performed, data from GPS collars could be used to enhance efficiency of carcass search, which is one of the main preventive measures to constrain ASF spread.
非洲猪瘟（ASF）是由一种 DNA 病毒（ASFV）引起的，属于 科的 属，是危害猪科动物最严重的疾病之一。在过去的几年中，它在东欧和中欧国家的野猪和猪群中传播，造成了巨大的经济损失。虽然当地 ASF 的发生与野猪密度呈正相关，但该物种的生态学（社会结构、运动行为）限制了疾病的远距离传播。因此，有人推测，以高日常移动性和远距离扩散能力而闻名的食肉动物，如狼（），可能是 ASF 的间接传播媒介。为了验证这一点，我们分析了 62 份来自波兰 ASF 疫区的狼粪便样本中是否存在 ASFV DNA。这个数据集包括 20 份证实含有野猪残骸的样本，其中 13 份是在 GPS 追踪到的狼以死野猪为食的地方收集的。所有分析的粪便样本均为 ASFV 阴性。另一方面，在 9 头被 GPS 追踪的狼吃掉的野猪中，有 8 头是阳性的。因此，我们的结果表明，当狼食用感染 ASF 的野猪的肉时，病毒不会在肠道中存活。此外，狼可能通过清除传染性腐肉来限制 ASF 的传播。我们推测，在进行大型食肉动物遥测研究的地区，可以利用 GPS 项圈的数据来提高腐肉搜索的效率，这是限制 ASF 传播的主要预防措施之一。
