Genetic Assessment of African Swine Fever Isolates Involved in Outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2005 and 2012 Reveals Co-Circulation of p72 Genotypes I, IX and XIV, Including 19 Variants
Leopold K. Mulumba–Mfumu,
Jenna E. Achenbach,
Matthew R. Mauldin,
Linda K. Dixon,
Curé Georges Tshilenge,
Etienne Thiry,
Noelia Moreno,
Esther Blanco,
Claude Saegerman,
Charles E. Lamien,
Adama Diallo
Affiliations
Leopold K. Mulumba–Mfumu
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Avenue Wangata, P.O. Box 8842, Kinshasa I, Democratic Republic of Congo
Jenna E. Achenbach
Animal Production and Health Laboratory, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Matthew R. Mauldin
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Linda K. Dixon
Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU24 ONF, UK
Curé Georges Tshilenge
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Avenue Wangata, P.O. Box 8842, Kinshasa I, Democratic Republic of Congo
Etienne Thiry
Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary (UREAR-Ulg), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium
Noelia Moreno
Centro de Investigaciόn en Sanidad Animal (CISA), INIA, Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
Esther Blanco
Centro de Investigaciόn en Sanidad Animal (CISA), INIA, Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
Claude Saegerman
Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary (UREAR-Ulg), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium
Charles E. Lamien
Animal Production and Health Laboratory, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Adama Diallo
Animal Production and Health Laboratory, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating disease of domestic pigs. It is a socioeconomically important disease, initially described from Kenya, but subsequently reported in most Sub-Saharan countries. ASF spread to Europe, South America and the Caribbean through multiple introductions which were initially eradicated—except for Sardinia—followed by re‑introduction into Europe in 2007. In this study of ASF within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 62 domestic pig samples, collected between 2005–2012, were examined for viral DNA and sequencing at multiple loci: C-terminus of the B646L gene (p72 protein), central hypervariable region (CVR) of the B602L gene, and the E183L gene (p54 protein). Phylogenetic analyses identified three circulating genotypes: I (64.5% of samples), IX (32.3%), and XIV (3.2%). This is the first evidence of genotypes IX and XIV within this country. Examination of the CVR revealed high levels of intra-genotypic variation, with 19 identified variants.
