Ornithodoros tick vectors and African swine fever virus.

Abstract African swine fever (ASF) virus, currently the only recognized DNA arbovirus, is the causative agent of a highly virulent and frequently lethal haemorrhagic fever of pigs and wild boar. The virus is readily transmitted between infected Sus scrofa (wild and domestic), as well as through ingestion of infected pork, fomites and some haematophagous vectors. Although several arthropod species have been evaluated for virus competence, argasids (soft ticks) of the genus Ornithodoros are the only known invertebrates that are reservoirs of the virus. This chapter provides information on ASF virus infection status and vector competence of Ornithodoros tick populations in Africa.