Experimental design impacts the vector competence of Ornithodoros ticks for African swine fever virus: a meta-analysis of published evaluations

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly economically devastating viral disease for swine. Soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros are involved in its epidemiology, as vectors and natural reservoirs of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). This constitutes a significant problem as it is currently challenging to eliminate endophilous soft ticks living in inaccessible, sheltered habitats. The vector competence of Ornithodoros ticks for ASFV has been mainly studied by mimicking natural tick-to-pig transmission pathways through experimental infections in the laboratory. However, experimental designs are anticipated to exert significant influence on the results, owing to inherent technical limitations of the approaches. By reviewing the original research studies dating back to the 1960s on the vector competence of Ornithodoros for ASFV, we estimated the vector competence of 10 tick species in association with 38 viral strains resulting in 51 tick-virus associations. This assessment emphasized the extensive range of protocol designs employed and of vector competence measurements. Those experimental factors have clear impact on the success of tick infection by ASFV. Our results offer valuable insights into how future trials can be refined by curtailing potential experimental biases. They also call for caution when interpreting conclusions drawn from studies on ASFV vector competence. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.