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Spanish officials probing the recent ASF incident in the northeastern region are now considering the possibility that the virus could have escaped from a research facility. Attention has shifted to five local facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Economic Concerns

A total of thirteen infections of the virus have been identified in wild boars in the countryside outside the Catalan capital beginning on 28 November. This has led Spain – the European Union's largest exporter of pig products – to rush to contain the outbreak before it becomes a significant risk to the country's multi-billion euro pork export sector.

Evolving Theories of Origin

Initially, local authorities suspected the outbreak started after a wild boar ate contaminated food brought in from outside Spain – perhaps a thrown away meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the national ministry of agriculture has opened a new investigation after concluding that the variant of the pathogen detected in the deceased animals in the region is not the same as the one reported to be circulating in other European countries. According to a report indicate the strain in question is rather akin to one found in Georgia in 2007.

"This finding of a strain similar to the one that circulated in that country does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its source is a high-security laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Research Link Explored

The 'Georgia 2007' virus strain is a 'reference' pathogen commonly employed in experimental infections in secure labs to research the disease or to evaluate the efficacy of treatments, which are currently under development. The analysis implies that the outbreak may not have started in livestock or meat products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Official Response and Audit

In response, Salvador Illa stated he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an audit of several laboratories that work with the ASF virus within a 20km distance of the affected area.

"We isn’t ruling out any scenarios when it comes to the origin of the outbreak of African swine fever, but nor are we confirming any," he said. "All hypotheses remain on the table. Above all, we need to know the facts."

Latest Containment Measures

The agriculture ministry have confirmed thirteen infections of the virus – all of them in deceased wild boar found within 6km of the first detection site. Officials added the remains of an additional 37 animals found in the area have been analysed, with all showing no infection for the virus. Specialists dispatched to the thirty-nine pig farms within the 20km radius have detected no trace of the illness on those farms. More than one hundred personnel from the country's emergency response forces have also been sent to the area to assist police officers and wildlife rangers.

Global Context of ASF

Long native to Africa, ASF is harmless to people but frequently fatal to swine. In 2018, the disease turned up in China, which is home to about 50% of the global pig population. By 2019, there were fears that up to one hundred million animals had been lost. Subsequently, the virus was detected to be in Germany, a country with one of the European Union's largest pig farming industries.

The Country's Crucial Role in Meat Exports

Spain, which is the EU’s biggest producer of pig meat, exported pork products worth 5.1 billion euros to other EU countries in the previous year, and nearly €3.7bn of pig-based goods to markets outside the bloc. Official data indicate that the country processed fifty-eight million pigs in 2021 – an increase of forty percent from a decade earlier.