Classical Swine Fever Virus

Abstract

First recognized in Tennessee, United States, in 1810, classical swine fever (CSF, alternatively known as hog cholera, pig plague, or swine fever) is a highly contagious, fatal disease of pigs, wild boar, and collared peccaries. The etiological agent for CSF is a single-stranded and positive-sense RNA virus in the genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae with the namesake of classical swine fever virus (CSFV). Typical clinical symptoms include fever, skin lesions, convulsions, and death (usually within 15 days, especially in young animals), which are indistinguishable from those of African swine fever (see Chapter 91). Once widely spread in many parts of the world, CSF has been successfully eradicated from Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, but still occurs in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, and Russia, with signicant economic impacts through production losses, trade bans, surveillance, and prevention costs.