African swine fever virus DNA is present in non-biting flies collected from outbreak farms in Romania.
Oana Maria Balmoș, Angela Monica Ionică, Cintia Horvath, Alexandru Supeanu, Monica Moțiu, Beatris Corina Ancuceanu, Paula Tamba, Florica Bărbuceanu, Vlad Cotuțiu, Mircea Coroian, Sofie Dhollander, Andrei Daniel Mihalca
Author Information
Oana Maria Balmoș: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania. oana-maria.balmos@usamvcluj.ro.
Angela Monica Ionică: Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases of Cluj-Napoca, Strada Iuliu Moldovan 23, 400348, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania.
Cintia Horvath: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania.
Alexandru Supeanu: National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, Piața Presei Libere 1, Corp D1, Sector 1, 013701, Bucharest, Romania.
Monica Moțiu: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health, Strada Dr. Staicovici 63, Sector 5, 050557, Bucharest, Romania.
Beatris Corina Ancuceanu: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health, Strada Dr. Staicovici 63, Sector 5, 050557, Bucharest, Romania.
Paula Tamba: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health, Strada Dr. Staicovici 63, Sector 5, 050557, Bucharest, Romania.
Florica Bărbuceanu: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health, Strada Dr. Staicovici 63, Sector 5, 050557, Bucharest, Romania.
Vlad Cotuțiu: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania.
Mircea Coroian: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania.
Sofie Dhollander: European Food Safety Authority, Via Carlo Magno 1A, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Andrei Daniel Mihalca: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania.
BACKGROUND: African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and severe haemorrhagic disease of Suidae, with mortalities that approach 100 percent. Several studies suggested the potential implication of non-biting dipterans in the spread of ASFV in pig farms due to the identification of the ASFV DNA. However, to our knowledge, no study has evaluated the viral DNA load in non-biting dipterans collected in outbreak farms and no risk factors have been analysed. In this context, our study aimed to analyse the risk factors associated with the presence of non-biting dipterans collected from ASF outbreaks in relation to the presence and load of viral DNA. METHODS: Backyard farms (BF), type A farms (TAF), and commercial farms (CF), were targeted for sampling in 2020. In 2021, no BF were sampled. Each farm was sampled only once. The identification of the collected flies to family, genus, or species level was performed based on morphological characteristics using specific keys and descriptions. Pools were made prior to DNA extraction. All extracted DNA was tested for the presence of the ASFV using a real-time PCR protocol. For this study, we considered every sample with a CT value of 40 as positive. The statistical analysis was performed using Epi Info 7 software (CDC, USA). RESULTS: All collected non-biting flies belonged to five families: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Fanniidae, Drosophilidae, and Muscidae. Of the 361 pools, 201 were positive for the presence of ASFV DNA. The obtained CT values of the positive samples ranged from 21.54 to 39.63, with a median value of 33.59 and a mean value of 33.56. Significantly lower CT values (corresponding to higher viral DNA load) were obtained in Sarcophagidae, with a mean value of 32.56; a significantly higher number of positive pools were noticed in August, mean value = 33.12. CONCLUSIONS: Our study brings compelling evidence of the presence of the most common synanthropic flies near domestic pig farms carrying ASFV DNA, highlighting the importance of strengthening the biosecurity measures and protocols for prevention of the insect life cycle and distribution.
