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Research Project: Intervention Strategies to Control and Eradicate Foreign Animal Diseases of Swine

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Title: Characterization of a novel African swine fever virus p72 genotype II from Nigeria

Author
item AMBAGALA, ARUNA - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item GOONEWARDENE, KALHARI - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item LAMBOO, LINDSEY - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item GOOLIA, MELISSA - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item ERDELYAN, CASSIDY - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item FISHER, MATHEW - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item HANDEL, KATHERINE - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item LUNG, OLIVER - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
item BLOME, SANDRA - Friedrich-Loeffler-institute
item KING, JACQUELINE - Friedrich-Loeffler-institute
item FORTH, JAN - Friedrich-Loeffler-institute
item CALVELAGE, STEN - Friedrich-Loeffler-institute
item Spinard Iii, Edward
item Gladue, Douglas
item MASEMBE, CHARLES - Makerere University
item ADEDEJI, ADEYINKA - National Veterinary Research Institute
item OLUBADE, TOYIN - National Veterinary Research Institute
item MAURICE, NANVEN - National Veterinary Research Institute
item ULARAMU, HUSSAINI - National Veterinary Research Institute
item LUKA, PAM - National Veterinary Research Institute

Submitted to: Viruses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/29/2023
Publication Date: 4/2/2023
Citation: Ambagala, A., Goonewardene, K., Lamboo, L., Goolia, M., Erdelyan, C., Fisher, M., Handel, K., Lung, O., Blome, S., King, J., Forth, J.H., Calvelage, S., Spinard III, E.J., Gladue, D.P., Masembe, C., Adedeji, A.J., Olubade, T., Maurice, N.A., Ularamu, H.G., Luka, P.D. 2023. Characterization of a novel African swine fever virus p72 genotype II from Nigeria. Viruses. 15(4). Article 915. https://doi.org/10.3390/v15040915.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v15040915

Interpretive Summary: African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a devastating disease in swine, called African swine fever (ASF), that is currently spreading across Europe, Asia and recently appeared in the Americas. Sequencing ASFV is a difficult task that has only recently been efficiently accomplished by using new sequencing technologies, here we present for the first time the full genome sequence of the ASFV strain that was causing outbreaks in Nigeria.

Technical Abstract: African swine fever (ASF) is a high-consequence transboundary hemorrhagic fever of swine. It continues spread across the globe causing socio-economic issues and threating food security and biodiversity. In 2020, Nigeria reported one of the worst ASF outbreaks, killing close to a million of pigs. Based on the partial sequences of B646L (p72) and E183L (p54) genes, the virus responsible for the outbreak was identified as an ASF p72 genotype II virus. Here we report further characterization of ASFV RV502, one of the isolates obtained from the outbreak. Whole genome sequence of the virus reveled a deletion of 6,535 bp between the nucleotide positions 11,760-18,295 of the genome, and an apparent reverse complement duplication of the 5’ end of the genome at the 3' end. Despite the deletion and rearrangement of the genome, ASFV RV502 remained virulent when inoculated into pigs, confirming the phenotype observed during the outbreak. Phylogenetically RV502 clustered together with ASFV MAL/19/Karonga and ASFV Tanzania/Rukwa/2017/1 suggesting that the virus responsible for the 2020 outbreak in Nigeria has a West African origin.