Genetic Characterization of African Swine Fever Italian Clusters in the 2022–2023 Epidemic Wave by a Multi-Gene Approach
Monica Giammarioli,
Claudia Torresi,
Roberta Biccheri,
Cesare Cammà,
Maurilia Marcacci,
Alessandro Dondo,
Elisabetta Razzuoli,
Giovanna Fusco,
Francesco Casalinuovo,
Maria Teresa Scicluna,
Silvia Dei Giudici,
Ana Maria Moreno Martin,
Elisabetta Rossi,
Cristina Casciari,
Michela Pela,
Carmen Iscaro,
Carmina Gallardo,
Gaia Marocco,
Mario Orrico,
Francesco Feliziani
Affiliations
Monica Giammarioli
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Claudia Torresi
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Roberta Biccheri
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Cesare Cammà
National Reference Center for Whole Genome Sequencing of Microbial Pathogens, Database and Bioinformatic Analysis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale”, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Maurilia Marcacci
National Reference Center for Whole Genome Sequencing of Microbial Pathogens, Database and Bioinformatic Analysis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale”, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Alessandro Dondo
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta “I. Altara”, 10154 Turin, Italy
Elisabetta Razzuoli
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta “I. Altara”, 10154 Turin, Italy
Giovanna Fusco
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, 80055 Napoli, Italy
Francesco Casalinuovo
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, 80055 Napoli, Italy
Maria Teresa Scicluna
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, 00178 Rome, Italy
Silvia Dei Giudici
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna “G. Pegreffi”, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Ana Maria Moreno Martin
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e della Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, 25124 Brescia, Italy
Elisabetta Rossi
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Cristina Casciari
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Michela Pela
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Carmen Iscaro
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Carmina Gallardo
European Union Reference Laboratory for African Swine Fever (EURL), Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
Gaia Marocco
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Mario Orrico
Veterinary Practitioner, 87040 Cosenza, Italy
Francesco Feliziani
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Swine Fever, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, 06126 Perugia, Italy
The first report of African swine fever virus (ASFV) genotype II in Italy in 2022 marked the beginning of a significant invasion in at least eight Italian regions with different infection clusters. In this study, we used the multi-gene approach to investigate the epidemiological associations between ASFV strains causing cases and outbreaks in wild boar and pigs in Italy from January 2022 to the end of 2023. Our results confirm that all the tested ASFV-positive Italian samples belonged to genotype II and show high homology with genotype II ASFV sequences previously collected in Eurasian countries. Molecular characterization revealed the presence of four genetic groups in Italy. The majority of African swine fever (ASF) samples analyzed in the current study (72%) belonged to genetic group 3, which was the most representative in Europe. The results also provide evidence of the prevalence of genetic group 19 (15.9%). In addition, we identified new putative genetic groups, genetic group 25 (9.1%) and genetic group 26 (3.0%), which have never been described before. This is the first detailed report on the molecular characterization of more than 130 ASFV strains circulating in Italy.
