Evaluation of pathogenic mechanisms and immune response in wild boar and domestic pigs against African swine fever virus.

The objectives of this line of research are to deepen the knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms and immune response in wild boar and domestic pigs against African swine fever virus (ASFV). Using ancestral Caucasian isolates of ASF virus genotype II that originally circulated after the reintroduction of the disease in Europe in 2007, comparative experimental inoculations will be carried out in domestic pigs and wild boar, as well as time course studies. This will allow a comparative assessment of disease course, clinical signs, macroscopic and histopathological lesions, viraemia levels, viral shedding pathways, viral load in target organs and virus-cell interactions, together with characterization of the systemic and local immune response. The results will contribute to the development of new vaccines to control the spread.