A rosin-functionalized plastic surface inactivates African swine fever virus

Johanneke Dinie Hemmink; Sailee Shroff; Naomi Chege; Marjo Haapakoski; Linda K Dixon; Varpu Marjomäki

doi:10.3389/fvets.2024.1441697

A rosin-functionalized plastic surface inactivates African swine fever virus

Front Vet Sci. 2024 Sep 23:11:1441697. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1441697. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Johanneke Dinie Hemmink¹, Sailee Shroff², Naomi Chege¹, Marjo Haapakoski², Linda K Dixon³, Varpu Marjomäki²

Affiliations

¹ Animal and Human Health Program, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
² Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences/Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
³ African Swine Fever Virus Group, The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, United Kingdom.

Abstract

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a severe hemorrhagic disease in pigs, leading to up to 100% case fatality. The virus May persist on solid surfaces for long periods; thus, fomites, such as contaminated clothing, footwear, farming tools, equipment, and transport vehicles, May contribute to the indirect transmission of the virus. Here, a plastic surface functionalized with tall oil rosin was tested against ASFV. The rosin-functionalized plastic reduced ASFV infectious virus titers by 1.3 log₁₀ after 60 min of contact time and killed all detectable viruses after 120 min, leading to a ~ 6 log₁₀ reduction. In contrast, the infectious virus titer of ASFV in contact with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic reduced <1 log₁₀ after 120 min. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed significant morphological changes in the virus after 2 h of contact with the rosin-functionalized plastic surface, but no changes were observed with the LDPE plastic. The use of antiviral plastic in the farming sector could reduce the spread of ASFV through fomites and could thus be part of an integrated program to control ASFV.

Keywords: ASFV; African swine fever; antiviral surface; plastic; rosin.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Premix Ltd, the Jane and Aatos Foundation, Business Finland, and the Academy of Finland under Grant [number 342251]. The authors declare that this study received funding from Premix Ltd. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article, or the decision to submit it for publication.