Relationships between the defensive systems of Iberian-breed swine and the European vector of African swine fever, Ornithodoros erraticus

Abstract

To discover whether the immune system of Iberian-breed pigs exerts any adverse action on Ornithodoros erraticus, 3 pairs of pigs were subjected to a weekly infestation over 12 wk with 1,000 larvae, 500 nymphs-1, or 200 adults. Each pair was bitten by only 1 developmental stage. Batches of parasites identical to the foregoing ones were fed weekly on control swine. In none of the 10 parameters studied for each of the batches fed weekly was any significant difference found that could be attributed to the state of sensitization of the animals in which, in a previous study, the presence of high titers of anti-O. erraticus antibodies was found. It was observed that the possible pruritus due to immediate hypersensitivity reactions, which in the test animals appeared after the third week, had no protective value in the natural milieu. In view of the inability of the swine to exert any control over the soft ticks, it is concluded that the size of their populations in the pig pens and their composition according to the developmental stage are factors that depend exclusively on the opportunities that swine breeders offer such populations to feed on the animals.