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Spanish officials investigating the ongoing ASF incident in Catalonia are now considering the possibility that the disease could have originated from a research facility. Attention has narrowed to several local facilities as potential sources.

Confirmed Cases and Economic Stakes

A total of thirteen infections of the virus have been confirmed in feral pigs in the rural areas outside the Catalan capital beginning on 28 November. This has prompted the country – the European Union's biggest exporter of pig products – to rush to control the situation before it escalates into a significant risk to the nation's multi-billion euro pig meat export sector.

Evolving Theories of Origin

At first, regional authorities believed the outbreak may have begun after a 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 opened a different investigation after determining that the variant of the virus found in the deceased animals in the region is not the same as the one reported to be present in other European countries. 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 like the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its origin is a high-security laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Research Connection Explored

The 'Georgia 2007' viral strain is a 'reference' virus commonly used in experimental infections in secure labs to study the virus or to test the efficacy of treatments, which are currently being developed. The report implies that the virus might not have originated in livestock or meat products from any of the countries where the disease is currently present.

Government Actions and Review

In response, the regional president of Catalonia announced he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an inspection of five facilities that work with the ASF virus within a 20-kilometer distance of the outbreak site.

"We are not excluding any scenarios when it comes to the source of the outbreak of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory are on the table. Above all, we need to understand the facts."

Current Control Efforts

The agriculture ministry have confirmed thirteen infections of the virus – all of them in deceased wild boar found within 6km of the initial focus. They have said the remains of 37 more wild animals discovered in the zone have been tested, with every one testing negative for the virus. Specialists sent to the 39 pig farms within the 20km radius have detected no sign of the disease on those farms. More than 100 members from the nation's emergency response forces have additionally been sent to the area to assist police officers and forestry agents.

Global Context of ASF

For a long time endemic to the African continent, ASF is not dangerous to humans but often fatal to swine. In 2018, the disease emerged in China, which is home to about half of the world’s pig population. By the following year, there were concerns that up to one hundred million pigs had been culled or died. Two years later, the virus was confirmed to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, home to one of the European Union's largest swine herds.

The Country's Pivotal Position in Pork Production

Spain, which is the European Union's biggest pork producer, exported pork products worth 5.1 billion euros to other EU countries last year, and almost 3.7 billion euros of pig-based goods to destinations outside the bloc. National statistics indicate that the country slaughtered fifty-eight million pigs in the year 2021 – an rise of forty percent from a ten years prior.