The categories reflect the potential presence of Ornithodoros ticks in the respective regions from negligible (0) to very likely (+++) as defined in Table1. German Federal States were investigated for the presence of antibodies directed against salivary antigen ofOrnithodoros erraticusticks using an indirect ELISA format. == Results == Out of these samples, 16 reacted with moderate to high optical densities that could be indicative of tick bites in sampled wild boar. However, these samples did not show a spatial clustering (they were collected from distant geographical regions) and were of bad quality (hemolysis/impurities). Furthermore, all positive samples came from areas with suboptimal climate for soft ticks. For this reason, false positive reactions are likely. == Conclusion == In conclusion, the study did not provide stringent evidence for soft tick-wild boar contact in the investigated German Federal Says and thus, a relevant involvement in the epidemiology of ASF in German wild boar is unlikely. This fact would facilitate the eradication of ASF in the area, although other complex relations (wild boar biology and interactions with domestic pigs) need to be considered. Keywords:African swine fever, Transmission cycles, Wild boar,Ornithodoros erraticus, Tick saliva antigen, ELISA == Background == African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important and complex notifiable diseases of both domestic and wild pigs. It is caused by the eponymous computer virus which belongs to the genusAsfiviruswithin theAsfarviridaefamily [1]. African swine fever computer virus (ASFV) is the only known DNA computer virus with an arthropod vector. The latter are soft ticks of the genusOrnithodoros[2]. In general, different transmission cycles are observed with ASFV: a sylvatic cycle, a soft tick-pig cycle, and a domestic cycle [3]. The former is usually of importance in Southern and Eastern Africa, where it entails warthogs and soft ticks of theO. moubatacomplex, while a similar sylvatic cycle in Europe, including Eurasian wild boar andO. erraticusticks has not been hitherto exhibited [4]. The tick-pig cycle was up to now observed in Africa [5] and on the Iberian Peninsula [6], where it involved domestic pigs andO. erraticusticks infesting the pig pens. This cycle can have a tremendous impact on transmission and long-term maintenance of ASF computer virus blood circulation [3] favoring endemic situations, especially in outdoor swine production [7]. However, once launched into the domestic pig populace, the computer virus does not rely on vector borne transmission, as both direct and indirect contacts are very efficient means of viral transmission [8]. The endophilous/ nidicolous ticks in theO. erraticuscomplex have been reported from your Iberian Peninsula, North and West Africa, and Western Asia [911]. Around the Iberian Peninsula,O. erraticusticks were found in close association with swine on free-range pig farms, hidden in holes, cracks and fissures Mollugin inside and around pig-pens. They were also found in bird nests, in burrows of small mammals, under stones, or in the resting places of vertebrate host species, but usually in the proximity of pig-pens [12]. So far, these soft ticks have never been reported from Central and Mollugin Northern Europe [9,11]. ASF was completely eradicated from Europe in the 1990s except from your Italian island of Sardinia, which has been affected since 1978 [9]. In 2007, the disease was launched into Georgia. Subsequently, it spread to neighboring Trans-Caucasian countries, the Russian Federation, and more recently (2014), it Mouse monoclonal to GRK2 re-entered into the European Union affecting Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia (OIE WAHID, frequented March 23rd 2015). In most of the affected European countries, the disease was detected in domestic pigs of all production sectors and in wild boar. The involvement of the latter is of special importance as the Mollugin very high density of wild boar Mollugin in Central Europe could favor the establishment of endemic situations that are most difficult to control. Although no evidences were found in the past that wild boar were parasitized by Ornithodoros ticks [13], the absence of this relationship has not been clearly exhibited by scientific data. Considering that the presence and involvement of soft ticks would certainly further complicate ASF eradication in the area [14], the assessment of a possible tick-wild boar cycle is urgently needed and would be required in the framework of legal binding ASF control within the European Union (Council.