Mechanical transmission of African swine fever virus by Stomoxys calcitrans: Insights from a mechanistic model

[en] African swine fever (ASF) represents a global threat with huge economic consequences for the swine industry. Even though direct contact is likely to be the main transmission route from infected to susceptible hosts, recent epidemiological investigations have raised questions regarding the role of haematophagous arthropods, in particular the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans). In this study, we developed a mechanistic vector-borne transmission model for ASF virus (ASFV) within an outdoor domestic pig farm in order to assess the relative contribution of stable flies to the spread of the virus. The model was fitted to the ecology of the vector, its blood-feeding behaviour and pig-to-pig transmission dynamic. Model outputs suggested that in a context of low abundance (<5 flies per pig), stable flies would play a minor role in the spread of ASFV, as they are expected to be responsible for around 10% of transmission events. However, with abundances of 20 and 50 stable flies per pig, the vector-borne transmission would likely be responsible for almost 30% and 50% of transmission events, respectively. In these situations, time to reach a pig mortality of 10% would be reduced by around 26% and 40%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis emphasized that the expected relative contribution of stable flies was strongly dependent on the volume of blood they regurgitated and the infectious dose for pigs. This study identified crucial knowledge gaps that need to be filled in order to assess more precisely the potential contribution of stable flies to the spread of ASFV, including a quantitative description of the populations of haematophagous arthropods that could be found in pig farms, a better understanding of blood-feeding behaviours of stable flies and the quantification of the probability that stable flies partially fed with infectious blood transmit the virus to a susceptible pig during a subsequent blood-feeding attempt. © 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Disciplines :

Veterinary medicine & animal health

Author, co-author :

Vergne, T.; UMR ENVT-INRAE IHAP, National Veterinary School of Toulouse, France

Andraud, M.; Unité d’Epidémiologie et de Bien-être Animal, Laboratoire de Ploufragan/Plouzané/Niort, Anses, France

Bonnet, S.; UMR BIPAR, Animal Health Laboratory, INRAE, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France

De Regge, N.; Sciensano, Scientific Direction Infectious Diseases in Animals, Brussels, Belgium

Desquesnes, M.; InterTryp, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier, France

Fite, J.; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France

Etore, F.; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France

Garigliany, Mutien-Marie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de morphologie et pathologie (DMP) > Pathologie générale et autopsies

Jori, F.; UMR Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risque et Ecosystèmes (ASTRE), CIRAD-INRAE Montpellier, Montpellier, France

Lempereur, L.; UMR ENVT-INRAE IHAP, National Veterinary School of Toulouse, France

More authors (5 more)

Language :

English

Title :

Mechanical transmission of African swine fever virus by Stomoxys calcitrans: Insights from a mechanistic model

Publication date :

2020

Journal title :

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

ISSN :

1865-1674

eISSN :

1865-1682

Publisher :

Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 24 March 2021

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