🔗 Share this article

National officials investigating the recent African swine fever incident in the northeastern region are now considering the possibility that the disease may have escaped from a research facility. Attention has narrowed to five local facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Stakes

Thirteen cases of the fever have been identified in wild boars in the rural areas outside the Catalan capital beginning on 28 November. This has prompted Spain – the European Union's biggest pork exporter – to rush to contain the situation before it becomes a serious risk to the nation's multi-billion euro pork export sector.

Evolving Investigative Focus

Initially, regional authorities suspected the disease started after a boar consumed infected meat products imported from outside Spain – perhaps a discarded meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the national ministry of agriculture has initiated a new line of inquiry after determining that the variant of the virus found in the deceased animals in the region is different from the one known to be present in other European countries. Investigative findings indicate the identified virus is instead akin to one detected in Georgia in the year 2007.

"This finding of a strain similar to the one that was present in Georgia does not, therefore, exclude the possibility that its origin lies in a biological containment laboratory," stated the agriculture department.

Research Connection Examined

The 'Georgia 2007' viral strain is a 'standard' pathogen commonly used in scientific studies in secure labs to study the disease or to evaluate the efficacy of treatments, which are currently under development. The analysis suggests that the virus may not have started in animals or meat products from any of the nations where the disease is currently active.

Government Response and Review

In reaction, Salvador Illa stated he had instructed the regional research body to conduct an audit of five laboratories that work with the African swine fever virus within a 20km distance of the outbreak site.

"We are not excluding any possibilities when it comes to the source of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "All hypotheses are open. First and foremost, we need to know what happened."

Current Containment Measures

The agriculture ministry have confirmed thirteen infections of the disease – each one in dead feral pigs found within six kilometers of the initial focus. They have said the remains of 37 more animals discovered in the area have been tested, with every one showing no infection for swine fever. Specialists dispatched to the thirty-nine pig farms within the 20km radius have found no trace of the disease there. Over 100 personnel from the nation's military emergencies unit have also been deployed to the area to work alongside police officers and wildlife rangers.

Worldwide Context of African Swine Fever

For a long time endemic to Africa, African swine fever is harmless to people but frequently deadly to swine. In the year 2018, the virus turned up in China, which is home to about half of the world’s pigs. By 2019, there were concerns that as many as 100 million animals had been culled or died. Subsequently, the virus was confirmed to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, home to one of the European Union's largest pig farming industries.

Spain's Pivotal Role in Pork Exports

Spain, which is the European Union's largest pork producer, sold pig meat products worth 5.1 billion euros to other European nations last year, and almost 3.7 billion euros of pork products to markets outside Europe. National statistics show that the country slaughtered 58 million pigs in 2021 – an rise of 40% from a decade earlier.