Four commercial disinfectants were chosen for being generally accepted as effective against ASFV. Only two of them, based on sodium hypochlorite and potassium peroxymonosulfate, confirmed their effectiveness in selected concentrations. Taken together, our data supports the effectivenes of chemical disinfectants containing sodium hypochlorite (1%, 0.5% in low level soiling) and potassium peroxymonosulfate (1% in high level soiling). Furthermore, these results highlight the importance of pre-cleaning steps to remove soiling before proper disinfection which improves the effectiveness of tested disinfectants.

Cultivation-based assays represent the gold standard for the assessment of virus infectivity; however, they are time-consuming and not suitable for every virus type. Pre-treatment with platinum (Pt) compounds followed by real-time PCR has been shown to discriminate between infectious and non-infectious RNA viruses. This study examined the effect of Pt and palladium (Pd) compounds on enveloped DNA viruses, paying attention to two significant pathogens of livestock – bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) and African swine fever virus (ASFV). Native or heat-treated BoHV-1 suspension was incubated with the spectrum of Pt/Pd compounds. Bis(benzonitrile)palladium(II) dichloride (BB-PdCl ₂) and dichloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene) palladium(II) (PdCl ₂-COD) produced the highest differences found between native and heat- -treated viruses. Optimized pre-treatment conditions (1 mM of Pd compound, 15 min, 4°C) were applied on both virus genera and the heat inactivation profiles were assessed. A significant decrease in the detected quantity of BoHV-1 DNA and ASFV DNA after heat-treatment (60°C and 95°C) and consequent incubation with Pd compounds was observed. BB-PdCl ₂ and PdCl ₂-COD could help to distinguish between infectious and non-infectious enveloped DNA viruses such as BoHV-1 or ASFV.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes feverous and hemorrhagic disease of domestic pigs and European wild boars with high mortality, yet no commercial vaccine is currently available. Several ASFV strains with natural deletion or gene-targeted knockout of multiple MGF360 and MGF505 genes are attenuated in vitro and in vivo, and can offer full protection against homologous challenge. However, the mechanisms underlying the protection are not fully understood. This study aims to investigate the effects of MGF360-12L of ASFV-SY18 on the cGAS-STING signaling pathway and explore the potential mechanisms. We identified that ASFV-SY18 MGF360-12L could inhibit cGAS-STING, TBK1, or IRF3-5D-stimulated IFN-β expression and ISRE activation. Specifically, MGF360-12L inhibits both the activation of PRD(III-I) in a dose-dependent manner, and suppresses the exogenous expression of TBK1 and IRF3-5D. MGF360-12L could block NF-κB activation induced by overexpression of cGAS-STING, TBK1, IKKβ. Downstream of the IFN-β signaling, MGF360-12L blocks the ISRE promoter activation by reducing total protein level of IRF9. Moreover, MGF360-12L protein can inhibit IFN-β-mediated antiviral effects. In conclusion, our findings suggest that MGF360-12L is a multifunctional immune-evasion protein that inhibits both the expression and effect of IFN-β, which could partially explain the attenuation of relevant gene-deleted ASFV strains, and shed light on the development of efficient ASFV live attenuated vaccines in the future.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute, hemorrhagic, and devastating viral infectious disease that causes important economic losses to the swine industry. Currently, there are no effective vaccines or drugs available. Epigenetic mechanisms, especially cytosine methylation of cytosine- -phosphate-guanine (CpG) islands, have a significant impact on the life cycle of several viruses. Hence, drugs targeting DNA methylation may potentially be used for the treatment of ASF. Here, we selected the inner core, core shell, inner membrane, capsid, and external envelope membrane, to analyze the characteristics of CpG islands in the ASF virus (ASFV) genomes. Furthermore, we analyzed the promoters and CpG islands in the upstream regions of these genes. Results showed that the CpG islands of seven genes were conserved in the genomes of two genotype of ASFV strains, whereas the CpG islands of other genes were relatively conserved (ASFV strains differed mainly in the quantity of CpG islands). The different distribution of CpG islands in the genomes of different ASFV strains may affect their methylation status, which may in turn affect the regulation of viral gene expression, leading to different clinical outcomes. In addition, the predicted promoter regions based on the upstream sequences of most genes overlapped with CpG island positions. Methylation of the binding sites of the promoter regions inhibits the binding of the transcription factors to the promoters, thus inhibiting the activation of the promoters and limiting the synthesis of viral proteins. The results of this study provide a basis for exploring new antiviral therapeutic strategies from an epigenetic perspective.