Oral transmission |
Ingesting virus-contaminated feed, drinking contaminated water, or swallowing virus particles. |
The most important route of ASFV transmission; transmission efficiency via drinking water is much higher than that via feed. |
Aerosol transmission |
The titer of ASFV in the air is positively correlated with the amount of virus excreted from feces. |
ASFV can be spread in a pig house over a short distance by aerosols. |
Insect-borne transmission |
ASFV is the only known insect-borne DNA virus; the Ornithodoros ticks are the most common vector, though other insects (stable flies, leeches, kissing bugs, and swine lice) may also spread ASFV. |
Ornithodoros soft ticks are an ideal virus reservoir to maintain the sylvatic cycle of ASFV among desert warthogs and Ornithodoros tick species. |
Iatrogenic transmission |
Virus-carrying pigs and susceptible pigs are immunized or injected with a therapeutic drug with the same needle. |
The infection efficiency of iatrogenic transmission and its importance in the epidemiology of ASFV are yet to be fully appreciated. |
Semen transmission |
ASFV can be isolated from semen of infected boars, but no direct evidence shows that ASFV can be transmitted through semen; the Terrestrial Animal Health Code stipulates that boar semen should not carry ASFV. |
Lacking convincing data. |
Vertical transmission |
Knowledge and data on ASFV vertical transmission are still lacking, except for one study reporting molecular evidence of vertical transmission of the virus. |
It is difficult to draw conclusions currently. |