Evaluation of a Lateral Flow Assay for Rapid Detection of African Swine Fever Virus in Multiple Sample Types

Antibody-based lateral flow assay (LFA) is a quick and inexpensive tool used to detect pathogens in field samples, especially in hard-to-reach remote areas that may have limited access to central laboratories during an outbreak or surveillance. In this study, we investigated the ability of a commercially available LFA, PenCheck (R), to detect African swine fever virus (ASFV) in clinical samples derived from pigs infected with highly virulent ASFV strains. The assay was specific and positively identified the majority of pigs showing high fever during the early stages (between 3 and 5 days) of infection. PenCheck (R) LFA also detected ASFV in serum and tissue samples collected from pigs that succumbed to experimental ASFV infection and whole blood, plasma, and tissue samples from the field. The limit of detection of the assay was ASFV titer 10(7.)(80) TCID50/mL, corresponding to ASFV real-time PCR values below 23 Ct. Although the sensitivity of the assay is less than that of the laboratory-based real-time PCR assays, the results obtained with the PenCheck (R) LFA in this study suggest that it can be used as a herd-level, field-deployable, and easy-to-use diagnostic tool to identify ASF-affected farms when access to portable molecular assays or central laboratories is not possible.

Automated summary

The study investigated the ability of a commercially available LFA test to detect African swine fever virus (ASFV) in clinical samples. The results showed that the LFA test was specific and able to detect ASFV in the early stages of infection. Although less sensitive than laboratory-based PCR assays, the LFA test has the potential to be a useful tool for on-site diagnosis in field settings.