Mitigation Strategies for African Swine Fever Virus Biosecurity: From Virus Inactivation to Pig Health

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a major global threat affecting pork production and strengthening biosecurity practices is an urgent priority, especially given the paucity of effective vaccines and antiviral drugs. Mitigation strategies focused on virus inactivation play an important role in controlling ASFV and there is growing recognition that multipronged mitigation strategies can not only achieve rapid decontamination of ASFV-exposed materials in different environmental settings but also support pig health by minimizing disease symptoms and preventing lateral transmission. Herein, we critically analyze the latest progress in developing thermal, chemical, and physical strategies to stop ASFV based on heat treatment, chemically reactive disinfectants, and physically disruptive mitigants. Our focus is on introducing ASFV-specific data that supports the use of different mitigation strategies in particular contexts and analyzing the corresponding inactivation mechanisms behind each strategy. In closing, we also discuss emerging innovation possibilities in the ASFV mitigation testing space and provide a forward-looking viewpoint of outstanding scientific questions and future research needs.