Publications

genetic characterization of african swine fever virus isolates from soft ticks at the wildlife/domestic interface in mozambique and identification of a novel genotype.	african swine fever virus (asfv) is one of the most threatening infectious diseases of pigs. there are not sufficient data to indicate the importance of the sylvatic cycle in the spread and maintenance of the disease locally and potentially, globally. to assess the capacity to maintain asf in the environment, we investigated the presence of soft tickreservoirs of asfv in gorongosa national park (gnp) and its surrounding villages. a total of 1,658 soft ticks were recovered from warthog burrows an ...	2017	28921895
preclinical diagnosis of african swine fever in contact-exposed swine by a real-time pcr assay.	a fluorogenic probe hydrolysis (taqman) pcr assay for african swine fever virus (asfv) was developed and evaluated in experimentally infected swine. this sensitive and specific one-step single-tube assay, which can be performed in 2 h or less, detected viral dna in tonsil scraping samples 2 to 4 days prior to onset of clinical disease. thus, the assay would have application for preclinical diagnosis of african swine fever and surveillance and/or emergency management of a disease outbreak.	2005	15634958
african swine fever virus multigene family 360 genes affect virus replication and generalization of infection in ornithodoros porcinus ticks.	recently, we reported that african swine fever virus (asfv) multigene family (mgf) 360 and 530 genes are significant swine macrophage host range determinants that function by promoting infected-cell survival. to examine the function of these genes in asfv's arthropod host, ornithodoros porcinus porcinus, an mgf360/530 gene deletion mutant (pr4delta35) was constructed from an asfv isolate of tick origin, pr4. pr4delta35 exhibited a significant growth defect in ticks. the deletion of six mgf360 an ...	2004	14963141
pathogenesis of african swine fever virus in ornithodoros ticks.	african swine fever virus (asfv) is the only known dna arbovirus and the sole member of the family asfarviridae. it causes a lethal, hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs. asfv is enzootic in sub-saharan africa and is maintained in a sylvatic cycle by infecting both wild members of the suidae (e.g. warthogs) and the argasid tick ornithodoros porcinus porcinus. the pathogenesis of asfv in o. porcinus porcinus ticks is characterized by a low infectious dose, lifelong infection, efficient transmissi ...	2001	11831434
african swine fever virus multigene family 360 and 530 genes are novel macrophage host range determinants.	pathogenic african swine fever virus (asfv) isolates primarily target cells of the mononuclear-phagocytic system in infected swine and replicate efficiently in primary macrophage cell cultures in vitro. asfvs can, however, be adapted to grow in monkey cell lines. characterization of two cell culture-adapted viruses, ms16 and ba71v, revealed that neither virus replicated in macrophage cell cultures. cell viability experiments and ultrastructural analysis showed that infection with these viruses r ...	2001	11238833
an african swine fever virus erv1-alr homologue, 9gl, affects virion maturation and viral growth in macrophages and viral virulence in swine.	the african swine fever virus (asfv) genome contains a gene, 9gl, with similarity to yeast erv1 and alr genes. erv1 has been shown to function in oxidative phosphorylation and in cell growth, while alr has hepatotrophic activity. 9gl encodes a protein of 119 amino acids and was highly conserved at both nucleotide and amino acid levels among all asfv field isolates examined. monospecific rabbit polyclonal antibody produced to a glutathione s-transferase-9gl fusion protein specifically immunopreci ...	2000	10627538
african swine fever virus replication in the midgut epithelium is required for infection of ornithodoros ticks.	although the malawi lil20/1 (mal) strain of african swine fever virus (asfv) was isolated from ornithodoros sp. ticks, our attempts to experimentally infect ticks by feeding them this strain failed. ten different collections of ornithodorus porcinus porcinus ticks and one collection of o. porcinus domesticus ticks were orally exposed to a high titer of mal. at 3 weeks postinoculation (p.i.), <25% of the ticks contained detectable virus, with viral titers of <4 log(10) 50% hemadsorbing doses/ml. ...	1999	10482612
functionality and cell anchorage dependence of the african swine fever virus gene a179l, a viral bcl-2 homolog, in insect cells.	the african swine fever virus gene a179l has been shown to be a functional member of the ced9/bcl-2 family of apoptosis inhibitors in mammalian cell lines. in this work we have expressed the a179l gene product (p21) under the control of the baculovirus polyhedrin promoter using a baculovirus system. expression of the a179l gene neither altered the baculovirus replication phenotype nor delayed the shutoff of cellular protein synthesis, but it extended the survival of the infected insect cells to ...	1998	9811766
african swine fever virus infection in the argasid host, ornithodoros porcinus porcinus.	the pathogenesis of african swine fever virus (asfv) infection in ornithodoros porcinus porcinus was examined in nymphal ticks infected with the asfv isolate chiredzi/83/1. at times postinfection (p.i.) ranging from 6 h to 290 days, ticks or dissected tick tissues were titrated for virus and examined ultrastructurally for evidence of virus replication. the asfv infection rate in ticks was 100% in these experiments, and virus infection was not associated with a significant increase in tick mortal ...	1998	9499019
experimental studies on the replication and transmission of crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus in some african tick species.	seven african tick species were studied as potential vectors of crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever (cchf) virus. engorged nymphae of 4 ixodid species, hyalomma marginatum rufipes, h. truncatum, rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus, and amblyomma hebraeum, were inoculated intracoelomically with cchf virus and assayed for virus content at varying times post-inoculation. the virus replicated in all 4 species, reaching maximum titers of 4.6-5.5(10) fluorescence focus units per ml on days 5-9 post-inoculatio ...	1989	2494900
african swine fever: pathogenicity and immunogenicity of two non-haemadsorbing viruses.	the virulence of 2 non-haemadsorbing african swine fever virus isolates were compared with 2 haemodsorbing viruses. while 3 of these isolates usually produced acute death in pigs, 1 non-haemadsorbing virus caused either a fatal infection with an extended course, or few or no obvious signs of infection. pigs that survived infection with the latter virus were resistant to the lethal effects of the other 3 strains as well as to a pool of 7 isolates made from ornithodorus porcinus porcinus (senus wa ...	1979	551362