article · BMC Veterinary Research
African swine fever causes severe mortality in domestic pigs and damages livelihoods, yet epidemiological information in endemic settings such as Uganda remains limited. Blood testing was conducted on healthy-looking slaughterhouse pigs in Kampala alongside pigs from targeted surveillance districts to measure exposure and active infection. Testing of 540 slaughterhouse samples revealed that over half carried antibodies against the virus, while active viral material was detected in more than one in ten animals. Similarly, among 181 pigs sampled in surveillance districts, over half were positive for antibodies, though active viral presence was detected in under one percent. These findings reveal widespread exposure to the virus among domestic pigs that show no visible symptoms of disease. The discrepancy between high antibody prevalence and lower active infection suggests that less virulent strains of the virus may be circulating in Uganda.
African swine fever is often lethal to domestic pigs, threatening food security and rural livelihoods. Identifying high exposure rates and active virus carriage in animals that appear completely healthy reveals that standard visual inspection cannot prevent the spread of infection. This evidence underscores the necessity of diagnostic testing to guide livestock management and protect pig farming communities from unnoticed disease transmission.
The abstract does not indicate a commercialisation pathway, as it represents early-stage epidemiological surveillance rather than product development. However, the findings highlight an operational need for accessible, rapid diagnostic tools to detect active viral infections and antibodies in slaughterhouses and field surveillance programmes. Such tools would primarily serve veterinary authorities, livestock monitors, and commercial abattoirs managing disease transmission risks.
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BACKGROUND: African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious viral disease which can cause up to 100% mortality among domestic pigs leading to serious socio-economic impact on people's livelihoods. ASF is endemic in Uganda and there is paucity of information on the epidemiology of the disease. The major aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and prevalence of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in apparently healthy slaughter pigs at Wambizi slaughterhouse in Kampala city, Uganda. We also estimated the presence of ASFV antibodies and circulating viral antigens in pigs from selected districts of Uganda during targeted surveillance. We analysed 540 and 181 blood samples collected from slaughter pigs and pigs from targeted surveillance districts respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of ASFV in slaughter pigs was 52.96% (95% CI, 48.75-57.14) and 11.5% (95% CI, 9.06-14.45) by ELISA and PCR respectively. In surveillance districts, the proportion of ASFV positive pigs was 53.59% (95% CI, 46.33-60.71) and 0.55% (95% CI, 0.1-3.06) by ELISA and PCR respectively. CONCLUSION: The study has found out a high seroprevalence of ASFV antibodies in apparently healthy slaughter pigs and also a high proportion of ASFV antibody seropositive pigs in surveyed districts in Uganda indicating exposure to ASFV. However, there was a lower prevalence of ASFV infection implying that there could be low virulent strains of ASFV circulating in domestic pigs in Uganda which requires further investigation.
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DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-9-263
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