African Swine Fever (ASF) is currently considered the most important threat to global pig production. The disease caused by the ASF virus (ASFV) is associated with high mortality in pigs.
The ASFV can be transmitted to pigs by the consumption of contaminated feed and is very stable in a wide range of commonly imported feed ingredients.
In order to determine whether the addition of feed additives can help reduce the infectivity of this virus, researchers at the University of Kansas conducted a study on the efficacy of additives based on medium chain fatty acids and formaldehyde to deactivate ASFV
The feed additives were tested on cell cultures and feed ingredients under a transoceanic shipment model.
Both chemical additives reduced PPV infectivity in a dose-dependent manner.
This study suggests that chemical feed additives can potentially reduce the risk of introduction and transmission of ASFV through feed.