A Hemolymph Test for the Detection of African Swine Fever Virus in Ornithodoros Coriaceus (Acari: Argasidae)

A hemolymph test was developed for detecting African swine fever (ASF) virus in soft ticks ( Ornithodoros spp.). Three methods of detecting ASF virus were proven effective, viz., direct immunofluorescence, immuno-dot blot, and virus culture in swine buffy coat cells. Virus required ca. 14 days to cross the gut epithelium into the hemolymph of soft ticks, with some variation due to virus strain and its interaction with a tick species. The use of these techniques will enable workers to detect viral pathogens in ticks collected during epizootiological surveys without destroying specimens that could be used later for further study.