Researchers believe the source of the African swine fever virus introduced into Georgia in 2007 was:

• A. Sardinia
• B. Eastern or Southern Africa
• C. Senegal
• D. Ukraine

Answer: (B)

The question tests how researchers trace where an outbreak came from by looking at the virus’s genetic lineage and known geographic spread. The ASF virus that sparked the Georgia outbreak in 2007 was the genotype II lineage, the form that was circulating in Eastern and Southern Africa at the time and that later spread into Eastern Europe. That genetic fingerprint makes Eastern or Southern Africa the most plausible source for the introduction, rather than Sardinia (which has a different genotype), Senegal (West Africa with other lineages), or Ukraine (where the virus appeared later and not as the source of the Georgia event). This illustrates how molecular epidemiology helps pinpoint origins of transboundary animal diseases.