Strategic nucleic acid detection approaches for diagnosing African swine fever (ASF): navigating disease dynamics

African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) and leads to significant economic losses in the pig farming industry. Given the absence of an effective vaccine or treatment, the mortality rate of ASF is alarmingly close to 100%. Consequently, the ability to rapidly and accurately detect ASFV on site and promptly identify infected pigs is critical for controlling the spread of this pandemic. The dynamics of the ASF virus load and antibody response necessitate the adoption of various detection strategies at different stages of infection, a topic that has received limited attention to date. This review offers detailed guidance for choosing appropriate ASF diagnostic techniques tailored to the clinical manifestations observed from the acute to chronic phases, including asymptomatic cases. We comprehensively summarize and evaluate the latest advancements in ASFV detection methods, such as CRISPR-based diagnostics, biosensors, and microfluidics. Additionally, we address the challenges of false negatives or positives due to ASF variants or the use of injected live attenuated vaccines. This review provides an exhaustive list of diagnostic tests suitable for detecting each stage of symptoms and potential target genes for developing new detection methods. In conclusion, we highlight the current challenges and future directions in ASFV detection, underscoring the need for continued research and innovation in this field.