Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
asfarvirus
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Related Questions
Read Next
Health care workers tend to patients at the drive-in center at ProHealth Care on March 18, 2020 in Jericho, New York. The facility offers COVID-19 testing as more than 200,000 people in at least 144 countries have been infected, with deaths in the....
Who Can Declare a Pandemic and What Criteria Are Required for an Outbreak to Be Called a Pandemic?
People wearing surgical masks (also called face mask or medical masks or safety masks) walk through the city center of Milan, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020. Coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic
How Do Face Masks Control the Spread of Disease?
Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: Scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)-also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19 isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab.
COVID-19 Terminology Explained
Dutch microbiologist and botanist Martinus W. Beijerinck (Martinus Beijerinck); undated photo.
How Were Viruses Discovered?
Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health
17 Questions About Health and Wellness Answered
Discover
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

asfarvirus

virus
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/science/asfarvirus
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Asfarviridae
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Related Topics:
virus
Asfivirus
See all related content

asfarvirus, any virus belonging to the family Asfarviridae. This family consists of one genus, Asfivirus, which contains the African swine fever virus. Asfarviruses have enveloped virions (virus particles) that are approximately 175–215 nm (1 nm = 10−9 metre) in diameter. An icosahedral capsid (the protein shell surrounding the viral nucleic acids) contains linear double-stranded DNA.

The African swine fever virus is believed to circulate between soft-bodied ticks (Ornithodoros) and pigs, specifically wild pigs (Sus scrofa), warthogs (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), and bush pigs (Potamochoerus porcus). The virus is found primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.