African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a contagious, rapidly spreading, transboundary animal disease and a major threat to pork production globally. Although plant-based feed has been identified as a potential route for virus introduction onto swine farms, little is known about the risks for ASFV transmission in feed. We aimed to determine the minimum and median infectious doses of the Georgia 2007 strain of ASFV through oral exposure during natural drinking and feeding behaviors. The minimum infectious dose of ASFV in liquid was 100 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50), compared with 104 TCID50 in feed. The median infectious dose was 101.0 TCID50 for liquid and 106.8 TCID50 for feed. Our findings demonstrate that ASFV Georgia 2007 can easily be transmitted orally, although higher doses are required for infection in plant-based feed. These data provide important information that can be incorporated into risk models for ASFV transmission.

African swine fever virus is transmissible through animal consumption of contaminated feed. To determine virus survival during transoceanic shipping, we calculated the half-life of the virus in 9 feed ingredients exposed to 30-day shipment conditions. Half-lives ranged from 9.6 to 14.2 days, indicating that the feed matrix environment promotes virus stability.