Spanish authorities are urgently investigating the possibility that a recent outbreak of African swine fever in Catalonia may have originated from a leak at a research laboratory. The discovery of the virus in wild boars has sent shockwaves through the nation, which is the European Union's largest pork exporter.
Focus Shifts to Research Facilities
The investigation took a significant turn when the Spanish agriculture ministry concluded that the strain of the virus found in dead boars is not the same as those currently circulating in other EU countries. Thirteen confirmed cases have been identified in wild boars in the countryside outside Barcelona since 28 November.
Instead, the detected virus is similar to the 'Georgia 2007' strain, a reference virus commonly used in experimental infections within high-security containment facilities. "The discovery of a virus similar to the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its origin lies in a biological containment facility," the ministry stated.
This finding has led officials to explore a new line of inquiry, moving away from the initial theory that the disease was introduced via contaminated food from abroad. Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, has ordered an audit of five facilities within a 20km radius of the outbreak site that work with the African swine fever virus.
Race to Contain the Threat
The outbreak poses a severe risk to Spain's lucrative pork industry, which exported products worth nearly €8.8 billion last year. The sector slaughtered 58 million pigs in 2021, a figure that underscores its enormous economic importance.
Authorities have mounted a major containment operation. So far, all confirmed cases are in wild boars found within 6km of the initial site. The corpses of 37 other wild animals in the zone have tested negative. Crucially, experts have found no trace of the illness in any of the 39 pig farms within a 20km radius.
More than 100 personnel from Spain's military emergencies unit have been deployed to support police and wildlife rangers in managing the situation and preventing further spread.
Global Context of the Virus
African swine fever, while harmless to humans, is often fatal to pigs and wild boars. The disease, long endemic to Africa, caused devastation in China's pig population from 2018 and was later confirmed in Germany in 2021.
Spain's response is being closely watched across Europe. The nation is a cornerstone of the EU's pork market, exporting €5.1 billion worth of pig meat to other member states last year, plus an additional €3.7 billion to markets outside the bloc.
President Illa has emphasised that all hypotheses remain open. "The regional government isn't ruling out any possibilities when it comes to the origin of the outbreak... First and foremost, we need to know what happened," he said. The audit of the nearby research labs is a critical step in that process.
