African Swine Fever Virus: A Review on Its Heterogeneity, Immunomodulatory Property and Its Extent of Virulence

Abstract

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a causative agent of a lethal haemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus), with a mortality rate of 100% at per-acute infections. ASFV have no vaccine available and is contagiously stable with direct transmission through infected swines, and indirectly from soft ticks (Ornithodoros). ASFV, display a complex genetic heterogeneity that invigorates its virulency and replication within host macrophage. Along with the on-going discovery of a clinical vaccine, evaluation and deciphering of the proper innate and cellular response using wild type homologous and heterologous ASFV challenges against pigs immunised with live attenuated ASFV or subunits vaccines of ASFV antigen has been the strategy apart from in-vitro studies using Porcine macrophage (PAMs) infection in culture. The ASFV essential and non-essential genes are involved in viral multiplication and immunosuppression along with stimulation of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore understanding ASFV virulence machinery, the various immune effectors it evokes and its heterogeneity of infection that contributes to the different clinical manifestations are important parameters in progression towards the design of an effective vaccine and therapeutics. The major ASFV structural and virulence regulatory components in host evasion; along with immunisation experiments are comprehensive retrospections in ASFV infection and cure.