Abstract
African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly pathogenic hemorrhagic DNA virus that infects domestic pigs with mortality rates approaching 100%. The virus is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and Sardinia, with outbreaks recently occurring in Russia and Uganda. There is no vaccine or cure for infection and all infected animals, as well as suspected cases of infection, are culled. Currently, the most rapid methods of ASFV detection use symmetric PCR to amplify a small section of the highly conserved B646L (VP72) gene. These assays are specific for ASFV detection, but due to the limitations of symmetric PCR, they do not provide reliable detection of low levels of viral DNA (Pierce et al. 2007). Linear-After-The-Exponentiai-PCR (LA TE-PCR) is an advanced form of asymmetric PCR which overcomes these technical problems, and using this method we have constructed an assay for ASFV that is capable of detecting both very low and very high viral titres. The assay is designed to be used in either a laboratory setting or in the field using the Bio-Seeqll, a portable PCR machine built by Smiths Detection, Inc. (Watford, UK).