Complete genome analysis of the African swine fever virus isolated from a wild boar responsible for the first viral outbreak in Korea, 2019

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious and severe hemorrhagic viral disease in swine, is emerging as a major threat not only in Korea but also worldwide. The first confirmed case of ASF in Korea was reported in 2019. Despite the occurrence of ASF in Korea, only a few studies have genetically characterized the causative ASF virus (ASFV). In this study, we aimed to genetically characterize the ASFV responsible for the 2019 outbreak in Korea. The genome of the ASFV isolated during the first outbreak in Korea was analyzed. The Korea/YC1/2019 strain has 188,950 base pairs, with a GC content of 38.4%. The complete genome sequence was compared with other ASFV genomes annotated in the NCBI database. The Korea/YC1/2019 strain shared the highest similarity with Georgia 2007, Belgium 2018/1, and ASFV-wbBS01 strains. This study expands our knowledge of the genetic diversity of ASFV, providing valuable information for epidemiology, diagnostics, therapies, and vaccine development.

Comparison of the Whole-Genome Sequence of the African Swine Fever Virus from a Mongolian Wild Boar with Genotype II Viruses from Asia and Europe

“…The sequence from Korea is placed the closest to European sequences, indicating a higher similarity between MT748042 and sequences from Europe. Similar findings have been reported by Kim et al, 2023, showing that the Korea/YC1/2019 strain shared the highest similarity with the Georgia 2007, Belgium 2018/1, and ASFV-wbBS01 strains [ 32 ]. However, comparison with sequences from domestic pigs was not investigated.…”

Genomic Epidemiology of African Swine Fever Virus Identified in Domestic Pig Farms in South Korea during 2019–2021

“…Two ASFVs detected in wild boars in Korea in 2019 and 2020 were included in the mutational investigation. The YC1/2019 strain (accession number, ON075797) detected in wild boars in the region near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the national border between South and North Korea, in 2019, showed the same mutations as three ASFVs: Yeoncheon1/2019, Paju2/2019, and Paju5/2019 [37]. The HC224/2020 strain (accession number, OP628183) had identical mutations as YC1/2019 but had one more mutation, a 17846/7 G insertion in the noncoding region.…”

Deletion of MGF505-2R Gene Activates the cGAS-STING Pathway Leading to Attenuation and Protection against Virulent African Swine Fever Virus

“…ASFV was first identified in Africa in 1921 and spread to the Caucasus region in 2007, spreading through Russia and East Europe, affecting many countries such as Romania, Poland, Latvia, Hungary, and Czech Republic, and more recently reaching Western European countries, including Belgium, Italy, and Germany [2]. Currently, it is endemic in China, the world's largest pork producer, where it was first detected in 2018 [3], and presently affects neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India [4][5][6]. It emerged in 2021 for the first time in many decades in the Americas, namely in the Dominican Republic and Haiti [7].…”