The reservoir hosts for ASFV are the African wart hog and bush pigs which remain unaffected, and soft ticks. African swine fever virus is also highly contagious between pigs with swill transfer. No vaccines exist.

A NOTIFIABLE exotic disease of domestic pigs with indistinguishable clinical symptoms to swine fever. Both viruses can also be transferred by subclinically infected carrier pigs.

ASFV is a very difficult disease to control and once entered Belgium (see later).