African swine fever (ASF) was originated in Africa in the 1920s and the disease spread to the Caucasian region of Georgia in 2007. Acute ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs with a rapid onset and short duration and is characterized by high fever, loss of appetite, cyanosis, and severe internal bleeding. Pork meat is one of the primary sources of animal proteins, accounting for more than 35% of the global meat intake, hence, this disease poses a serious problem for food security worldwide. This disease is also a concern for biodiversity and the balance of ecosystems, as it affects not only domestic farmed pigs, but also wild boars, including native breeds. The virus is highly resistant in the environment (clothes, boots, wheels etc) and can also survive in various pork products (ham, sausages or bacon).

The world’s pig population was estimated at over 784 million in 2022; China alone contains more than half of the total pig population. Pig farms play a key role in human health and nutrition, as well as promoting poverty reduction in rural areas. In recent years, the urgent need to monitor and control diseases in the animal sector, such as the concept of one health, has demonstrated significant technological advances. For this reason, research on diseases in the pig sector does not only address human and animal health issues, but also socio-economic aspects.

The overarching goals of this collection are to contribute to the current standard of understanding of the swine fever infection diffusion, suggest future directions in applied research, and to consider the social implications of the findings in enzootic countries. Reviews, original research and opinion articles are welcomed on (but not limited to) the following themes:
• established knowledge in the field
• updated overview of the recent advances in fundamental ASF research
• the progress in understanding disease pathogenesis, immunity against acute and persistent
infections
• diagnostics and vaccine development
• the challenges in the development of modern and efficacious marker vaccines compatible with
serological tests for disease surveillance
• discoveries on the genetic diversity of pestiviruses, with implications for taxonomy.

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Frontiers in Veterinary Science

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