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Spanish authorities probing the recent ASF incident in Catalonia are now exploring the possibility that the disease could have originated from a research facility. Their focus has narrowed to several nearby facilities as possible points of origin.

Confirmed Cases and Economic Stakes

Thirteen cases of the virus have been confirmed in wild boars in the rural areas outside Barcelona beginning on 28 November. This has prompted Spain – the European Union's largest exporter of pig products – to scramble to control the outbreak before it becomes a serious threat to the nation's multi-billion euro pig meat export industry.

Shifting Investigative Focus

At first, local authorities believed the disease started after a wild boar ate infected meat products brought in from outside Spain – possibly a discarded meat sandwich from a truck driver.

However, the national ministry of agriculture has initiated a new investigation after determining that the strain of the pathogen found in the dead animals in the region is not the same as the one known to be present in other EU member states. Investigative findings suggest the strain in question is rather similar to one detected in the country of Georgia in 2007.

"The discovery of a strain similar to the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the chance that its source lies in a biological containment facility," stated the agriculture department.

Laboratory Link Explored

The 'Georgia-2007' virus strain is a 'reference' virus commonly employed in experimental infections in secure labs to research the virus or to test the effectiveness of vaccines, which are presently under development. The analysis implies that the outbreak might not have originated in animals or animal products from any of the countries where the disease is currently present.

Official Response and Audit

In reaction, Salvador Illa announced he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to carry out an audit of several laboratories that handle the African swine fever pathogen within a 20-kilometer radius of the affected area.

"We isn’t ruling out any scenarios when it comes to the source of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," he said. "All hypotheses remain on the table. Above all, we need to know what happened."

Current Control Measures

The authorities have confirmed 13 cases of the disease – each one in dead feral pigs found within 6km of the initial focus. Officials added the corpses of 37 more animals found in the area have been analysed, with every one showing no infection for the virus. Experts sent to the 39 swine operations within the 20km radius have found no trace of the disease there. Over 100 members from the nation's emergency response forces have additionally been sent to the area to assist law enforcement and wildlife rangers.

Worldwide Context of ASF

Long endemic to the African continent, African swine fever is not dangerous to humans but often fatal to swine. In the year 2018, the disease emerged in China, which is has about half of the world’s pigs. By the following year, there were concerns that up to 100 million pigs had been culled or died. Two years later, the pathogen was confirmed to be in Germany, a country with one of the European Union's largest swine herds.

Spain's Pivotal Role in Pork Production

The nation, which is the EU’s biggest producer of pig meat, exported pork products worth €5.1bn to other EU countries last year, and nearly €3.7bn of pork products to markets outside Europe. National statistics show that the country processed fifty-eight million pigs in 2021 – an increase of 40% from a decade earlier.