This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A small, nest-dwelling tick found across large parts of Texas could play an outsized role in how the United States responds to African swine fever (ASF) should the virus reach domestic or wild pigs. In a recent study, researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS), Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Department of Biology mapped where Ornithodoros turicata—a soft tick species native to Texas and the southwestern United States—is most likely to survive and examined what that means for ASF preparedness.
The work was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. Meriam Saleh, a clinical assistant professor in VMBS' Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, the project seeks to understand whether Texas-derived populations of the tick could help sustain or transmit the virus if it were introduced into the U.S.—and how that risk could affect the food supply, trade and cross-border livestock movement. The study is co-led by Dr.
Dee Ellis, a veterinarian in AgriLife Research and the Department of Entomology. Ellis focuses on the industry and stakeholder impacts of the virus. Though ASF is not currently in the U.S., it is present in the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
The virus is highly contagious in pigs and often fatal, making it one of the most economically devastating livestock diseases in the world. "It's on our doorstep," Saleh said. "Even though introduction isn't probable, it's possible—and because the consequences are so severe, it warrants serious attention." In countries where ASF has been introduced, outbreaks have led to mass depopulation of herds, long-term trade restrictions and billions of dollars in losses.
The U.S. pork industry contributes more than $50 billion annually to the national gross domestic product and supports more than 550,000 jobs across production, processing and export sectors. The U.S. is one of the world's leading pork exporters, and international trade depends heavily on disease-free status. If ASF were detected in the U.S., immediate export bans and large-scale control measures would likely follow.
"Because the implications are so severe, even a low-probability risk deserves close scrutiny," Saleh said. ASF spreads primarily through direct contact between infected pigs, contaminated feed or meat products and infected environments. However, in parts of Africa where the virus is endemic, it is maintained in wildlife through soft ticks in the same genus as O. turicata.
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