How far can African swine fever spread?

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic pig and wild boar populations. Once introduced, it is a terrible disease that can devastate the swine industry in many countries. ASF has spread most recently beyond China to Southeast Asia, and parts of the Korean Peninsula.

Distribution and characterization of IL-10-secreting cells in lymphoid tissues of PCV2-infected pigs.

Distribution and characterization of interlukin-10 (IL-10)-secreting cells in lymphoid tissues of pigs naturally infected with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) were evaluated in accordance with PCV2 antigen detection. After screening a total of 56 pigs showing the symptoms of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), 15 pigs were PCV2 positive and 5 pigs, which showed stronger positive signals over multiples tissues were further investigated. This study showed that in PCV2-infected lymphoid tissues, particularly mandibular lymph node, spleen and tonsil, IL-10 expression was mainly localized in T-cell rich areas but rarely in B cell rich areas.

Use of a portable real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for rapid detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Objective: To evaluate a portable real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay designed to detect all 7 viral serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).

Design: Laboratory and animal studies.

Study Population: Viruses grown in tissue culture and animals experimentally infected with FMDV.