ASFV (African Swine Fever Virus) is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF) with nearly 100% mortality rate in domestic and wild pigs. Endemics of ASFV have happened in multiple regions including sub-Saharan Africa, Italian Mediterranean of Sardinia, parts of Eastern Europe and China. Pork production was estimated to decrease by at least 15% when major ASFV outbreaks occurred, affecting maintenance of a stable international supply chain of pork which is consumed in quantities of more than 110 million metric tons every year worldwide. Currently, only one experimental vaccine ASFV-G-ΔI177L has been reported to be able to induce protection against the ASFV Georgia isolate and no treatment is available. Therefore, to facilitate prevention in transmission, fast and easily accessible diagnostic tests are essential. To date, the available detection methods for ASFV include viral genome detection through PCR tests, and lab-based ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) antigen tests. Though these detection methods are highly reliable and accurate, lab settings and long turn-around-time are not avoidable. To best fill the gap of a more convenient detection method for ASFV, the test needs to be easy to operate at the point of need, low cost, and preferably thermostable for ease of transportation. Point-of-need rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) would be the most suitable tests for fast diagnosis and isolation of infected livestock. Herein, we present the discovery of a pair of thermostable affinity agents targeting ASFV viral antigen P54 as well as adapting the affinity agents to our RDT test platform for surveillance test development.

Discovery of thermostable affinity agents targeting ASFV for surveillance test development

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ACS Fall 2022

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