African swine fever pathogenesis and immune responses in resistant and susceptible hosts (ASF-RASH)

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most complex viral diseases affecting livestock and has enormous socio-economic implications. The disease has its roots in sub-Saharan Africa, where it occurs in a so-called sylvatic cycle between warthogs and soft ticks. This cycle is not accompanied by obvious signs of disease. However, any introduction of the disease into the domestic pig sector or into Eurasian wild boar populations leads to a severe hemorrhagic disease with an exceptionally high mortality rate. To date not prevention or cure is available. The ASF-RASH project aims to compare the pathogenesis of the disease in susceptible and resistant host species and to define correlates of immune responses associated with the favorable or fatal outcome of the disease. This also includes questions of long-term protection, protection via maternal antibodies, alternative transmission routes, evolution on the pathogen side and dose dependencies. The German project partner (FLI) will coordinate the project and use established infection models in domestic and wild pigs to address the issue of vertical transmission via male breeding animals (work package 1), the influence of maternal antibodies (work package 1) and comparative pathogenesis studies (work packages 2 and 3).