Ekakoro John E, Nassali Aisha, Hauser Cole, Ochoa Krista, Ndoboli Dickson, Okwasiimire Rodney, Kayaga Edrine B, Wampande Eddie M, Havas Karyn A
Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.
Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine, Rowan University, Mullica Hill, NJ, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 May 29;12:1568095. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1568095. eCollection 2025.
African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious and hemorrhagic viral disease of pigs that may present as a per-acute, sub-acute or chronic disease. Prior to this study, the clinical and pathologic presentation of ASF in pigs slaughtered in Uganda had not been characterized, and studies varied in their findings regarding differential diagnoses. The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the clinical and pathologic presentation of ASF in pigs sampled from abattoirs in the Kampala metropolitan area over the course of one year, and (2) determine the prevalence of swine influenza A viruses (S-IAV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and spp. in these pigs.
Clinical and pathological data and samples were collected from pig abattoirs located in the Kampala metropolitan area from May 2021 through June 2022. Confirmatory diagnostic testing for African swine fever virus (ASFV) was performed using the real-time PCR (qPCR) assay. Diagnostic testing for ASFV differential diagnoses were performed using serologic and molecular techniques.
Severe fever was found in 3.3% (26/794) of all pigs that were ASFV positive by any of the sample types tested. Of 196 blood positive pigs, 26% (51) had widespread splenic hemorrhages compared to 15.2% (67/442) of the pigs positive based on testing of lymph nodes, 15.5% (72/464) of pigs positive based on tonsil samples, and 15.8% (61/385) of pigs with positive spleen samples. The median gross pathologic lesion score for all pigs that tested positive for any sample type was six out of 33 [interquartile range (IQR): 4, 9]. Overall, 89.3% of the pig samples (1,188/1,330) were seropositive for S-IAV, and 0.8% (11/1,329) were seropositive for PRRSV. As for spp., 4.4% (40/903) were qPCR positive, and all samples tested for CSFV nucleic acid were negative.
ASF in pigs slaughtered in central Uganda presents with clinical signs and lesions that vary; they present as healthy pigs or pigs with subacute or acute disease. However, surveillance programs in Uganda will require confirmatory laboratory diagnosis due to the occurrence of pathogens that cause similar clinical signs and lesions.
非洲猪瘟（ASF）是一种猪的传染性出血性病毒性疾病，可表现为超急性、亚急性或慢性疾病。在本研究之前，乌干达屠宰猪中ASF的临床和病理表现尚未得到描述，并且关于鉴别诊断的研究结果各不相同。本研究的目的是：（1）描述在一年时间里从坎帕拉大都市区屠宰场采集的猪中ASF的临床和病理表现，以及（2）确定这些猪中甲型猪流感病毒（S-IAV）、猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒（PRRSV）、经典猪瘟病毒（CSFV）和 spp.的流行情况。
从2021年5月至2022年6月收集位于坎帕拉大都市区的猪屠宰场的临床和病理数据及样本。使用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）检测法对非洲猪瘟病毒（ASFV）进行确诊诊断检测。使用血清学和分子技术对ASFV鉴别诊断进行检测。
在通过任何一种检测样本类型检测为ASFV阳性的所有猪中（794头），3.3%（26/794）出现严重发热。在196头血液检测阳性猪中，26%（51头）有广泛的脾脏出血；相比之下，基于淋巴结检测呈阳性的猪中有15.2%（67/442），基于扁桃体样本检测呈阳性的猪中有15.5%（72/464），脾脏样本呈阳性的猪中有15.8%（61/385）。对于任何样本类型检测呈阳性的所有猪而言（共33项），大体病理病变评分中位数为6分[四分位间距（IQR）：4，9]。总体而言，89.3%的猪样本（1,188/1,330）S-IAV血清学检测呈阳性，0.8%（11/1,329）PRRSV血清学检测呈阳性。至于 spp.，4.4%（40/903）qPCR检测呈阳性，所有检测CSFV核酸的样本均为阴性。
乌干达中部屠宰猪中的ASF表现出不同的临床症状和病变；它们表现为健康猪或患有亚急性或急性疾病的猪。然而，由于存在会导致相似临床症状和病变的病原体，乌干达的监测计划将需要进行实验室确诊诊断。
