The level of viable virus in CSFV infected animals, and
hence the level of contamination of a product derived from
an infected animal, varies according to the virulence of the
infecting virus and the stage and course of disease. The tissue tropism of the
virus will also affect the viral load found in different pork
products. The main target cells for CSFV are leukocytes,
myeloid, epithelial and endothelial cells and high concentrations
of CSFV are found in lymphoid tissue, spleen
and blood. Few studies have quantified viable CSFV in
muscle and fat which constitute the major proportion of
pork products. Available data indicates the levels in muscle
and fat are low, an, although levels as high as 104.9 TCID50/g have been
reported.