African swine fever (ASF), considered as the most dreadful swine disease due to its very high mortality, emerged in India in 2020. The complete genome analysis of ASF viruses isolated during the first outbreaks in India showed a few unique non-synonymous mutations in MGF 369-11L, MGF 505-4R, K205R and B263R genes. Frame shiftsin the protein coding sequences were observed in DP60R, ASFV-G_ACD 00190, MGF 110-10-L- MGF110-14L fusion, MGF 360-14L and I267L genes of Indian ASFVs as compared to ASFV/Georgia/2007. Complete genome based phylogenetic analysis of p72-genotype-II viruses showed the clustering of Indian isolates with ASFV/Wuhan/2019 in a separate clade. Phylogenetic analysis of concatenated sequences of 14 open reading frames (ORF) having single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) showed distinct grouping of Indian ASFVs with other Asian ASFVs.Thisis the first complete genome characterization of ASF viruses isolated from domestic pigs in India. The resultsindicate that number of Tandem Repeat Sequence in the intergenic region between I73R and I329L genes, and the 14 ORFs with SNP reported in this study could be the genetic determinants to differentiate the closely related p72-genotype II viruses circulating in Asia.

Africa Swine Fever (ASF) is one of the most important transboundary diseases of pigs. ASF has been identified in India for the first time in domestic pigs from outbreaks reported in two of the North-Eastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in 2020. A total of 11 ASF outbreaks in different regions killed over 3700 pigs and devastated the economy of small-scale livestock owners of both the states. Considering the first outbreak of ASF in India, a generic risk assessment framework was determined to identify potential risk factors that might favour future emergence of the disease. Based on Indian scenario, we considered population density of host, farming practice, availability of biological vectors and wildlife reservoirs, epidemiological cycles and international trade to analyze the possibility of future outbreaks and chances of establishment of endemism. On critical analysis of the identified risk factors, we observed that the risk factors are well preserved in Indian geography and might participate in future outbreaks further disseminating the disease to nearby countries. Since no vaccine is currently available against ASF, the domestic and the wild-pigs (wild boars and the endangered pygmy hogs native to India) of this region are under constant threat of infection. For the near future this region will have to continue to rely on the implementation of preventive measures to avoid the devastating losses that outbreaks can cause. The various adaptive control strategies to minimize the risks associated with the transmission of ASF keeping our views to Indian settings have been described. The risk-analysis framework presented in the study will give a further understanding of the dynamics of disease transmission and will help to design control strategies and corresponding measures to minimize the catastrophic consequences of ASF disease.