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National authorities investigating the recent ASF outbreak in Catalonia are now exploring the possibility that the disease may have escaped from a research facility. Their focus has narrowed to five nearby labs as potential points of origin.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Stakes

A total of thirteen cases of the fever have been confirmed in wild boars in the rural areas outside Barcelona since 28 November. This has prompted Spain – the EU’s largest exporter of pig products – to rush to contain the situation before it escalates into a serious threat to the nation's €8.8bn-a-year pork export sector.

Evolving Theories of Origin

At first, local authorities believed the disease may have begun after a boar ate contaminated meat products brought in from abroad – perhaps a thrown away food item from a truck driver.

However, the national agriculture ministry has opened a different line of inquiry after concluding that the strain of the virus found in the dead boars in the region is not the same as the one reported to be present in other European countries. According to a report suggest the strain in question is rather similar to one found in Georgia in the year 2007.

"This finding of a virus similar to the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, exclude the chance that its source is a high-security facility," stated the agriculture department.

Research Link Explored

The 'Georgia 2007' viral strain is a 'standard' pathogen commonly used in experimental infections in secure labs to research the virus or to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines, which are presently being developed. The report suggests that the outbreak might not have originated in animals or meat products from any of the countries where the disease is currently present.

Government Response and Review

In response, Salvador Illa announced he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an audit of five laboratories that handle the ASF pathogen within a 20km distance of the outbreak site.

"We are not excluding any scenarios when it comes to the source of the incident of this disease, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory are open. Above all, we need to know the facts."

Current Control Efforts

The authorities have reported thirteen infections of the disease – each one in deceased feral pigs located within six kilometers of the initial focus. They have said the remains of 37 more animals found in the zone have been analysed, with all showing no infection for swine fever. Specialists sent to the 39 pig farms within the surrounding zone have found no sign of the illness on those farms. More than 100 members from the country's emergency response forces have additionally been sent to the region to assist law enforcement and forestry agents.

Worldwide Background of ASF

For a long time endemic to Africa, African swine fever is not dangerous to people but frequently fatal to pigs. In 2018, the virus turned up in China, which is home to about 50% of the world’s pigs. By 2019, there were concerns that up to 100 million animals had been culled or died. Two years later, the virus was detected to be in Germany, a country with one of the EU’s biggest pig farming industries.

The Country's Pivotal Role in Meat Production

Spain, which is the EU’s largest producer of pig meat, sold pork products worth €5.1bn to other European nations last year, and almost 3.7 billion euros of pork products to markets outside the bloc. National data indicate that the country slaughtered 58 million swine in the year 2021 – an rise of 40% from a ten years prior.