** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE EMERGENCE OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER VIRUS (ASFV) IN AFRICA, EUROPE, AND RECENT EMERGENCES INASIA AND THE CARIBBEAN DEMONSTRATES A THREATENING TREND FOR CONTINUED GLOBAL INVASION ANDESTABLISHMENT. ASFV CAUSES SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN DOMESTIC SWINE WHICH COULDDEVASTATE THE US SWINE INDUSTRY. THE VIRUS IS TRANSMITTED HORIZONTALLY FROM PIG TO PIG AS WELL AS BYSOFT TICK VECTORS IN THE ARGASIDAE FAMILY. QUANTIFYING THE DEGREE OF VECTOR-BORNE VERSUS HORIZONTALTRANSMISSION FOR ENDEMIC MAINTENANCE AND GLOBAL SPREAD IS A CRITICAL GAP IN KNOWLEDGE FOR EFFECTIVEMANAGEMENT OF THIS HIGH-CONSEQUENCE TRANSBOUNDARY FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE. WE PROPOSE TOADVANCE TOOLS TO QUANTIFY SOFT TICK CONTACT WITH DOMESTIC AND WILD SWINE IN BOTH AN ENDEMIC REGIONOF UGANDA WITH ACTIVE ASFV TRANSMISSION AS WELL AS REGIONS OF THE US THAT ARE CONSIDEREDRECEPTIVE TO ASFV. OUR TWO SPECIFIC AIMS ARE 1) DETERMINE THE VERTEBRATE HOST COMMUNITY UTILIZEDBY ARGASID TICKS, COMPETENT VECTORS OF ASFV, AND 2) QUANTIFY SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF SWINEEXPOSURE TO SOFT TICK AND HARD TICK BITES. THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING OUR ESTABLISHEDBLOODMEAL METABARCODING OF SOFT TICKS AS WELL AS OUR SALIVARY BIOMARKER ASSAY WHICH MEASURES PASTTICK BITES IN SWINE. THIS PROJECT WILL PARTNER WITH TWO NATIONAL AGENCIES IN UGANDA, AN ASF ENDEMICCOUNTRY: NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION AND MAKERERE UNIVERSITY TO FACILITATE THESTUDY OF TICK-SWINE CONTACT TO FACILITATE IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF THIS VIRUS IN ENDEMIC SETTINGS ASWELL AS PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT TO HELP LIMIT VIRAL SPREAD TO RECEPTIVE HABITATS.