Static Aerated Composting of African Swine Fever Virus-Infected Swine Carcasses with Rice Hulls and Sawdust
Mark Hutchinson,
Hoang Minh Duc,
Gary A. Flory,
Pham Hong Ngan,
Hoang Minh Son,
Tran Thi Khanh Hoa,
Nguyen Thi Lan,
Dale W. Rozeboom,
Marta D. Remmenga,
Matthew Vuolo,
Robert Miknis,
Lori P. Miller,
Amira Burns,
Renée Flory
Affiliations
Mark Hutchinson
Maine Food and Agriculture Center, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Orono, ME 04473, USA
Hoang Minh Duc
Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 12400, Vietnam
Gary A. Flory
G.A. Flory Consulting, Mt. Crawford, VA 22841, USA
Pham Hong Ngan
Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 12400, Vietnam
Hoang Minh Son
Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 12400, Vietnam
Tran Thi Khanh Hoa
Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 12400, Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Lan
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 12400, Vietnam
Dale W. Rozeboom
Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Marta D. Remmenga
Center for Epidemiolgy and Animal Health, Veterinary Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
Matthew Vuolo
Center for Epidemiolgy and Animal Health, Veterinary Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
Robert Miknis
Center for Epidemiolgy and Animal Health, Veterinary Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
Lori P. Miller
Center for Epidemiolgy and Animal Health, Veterinary Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
Amira Burns
Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Renée Flory
English Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Identifying and ensuring the inactivation of the African Swine Fever virus in deadstock is a gap in the swine industry’s knowledge and response capabilities. The results of our study demonstrate that ASFv in deadstock was inactivated using static aerated composting as the carcass disposal method. Replicated compost piles with whole market hogs and two different carbon sources were constructed. In-situ bags containing ASFv-infected spleen tissue were placed alongside each of the carcasses and throughout the pile. The bags were extracted at days 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 144 for ASFv detection and isolation. Real-time PCR results showed that DNA of ASFv was detected in all samples tested on day 28. The virus concentration identified through virus isolation was found to be below the detection limit by day 3 in rice hulls and by day 7 in sawdust. Given the slope of the decay, near-zero concentration with 99.9% confidence occurred at 5.0 days in rice hulls and at 6.4 days in sawdust. Additionally, the result of virus isolation also showed that the virus in bone marrow samples collected at 28 days was inactivated.
