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National authorities investigating the recent African swine fever incident in Catalonia are now exploring the possibility that the virus could have escaped from a scientific laboratory. Their focus has narrowed to several local facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Concerns

Thirteen infections of the virus have been confirmed in wild boars in the rural areas outside Barcelona since 28 November. This has led Spain – the EU’s largest exporter of pig products – to rush to contain the situation before it escalates into a serious risk to the nation's multi-billion euro pig meat export sector.

Evolving Theories of Origin

Initially, regional officials believed the outbreak started after a wild boar consumed contaminated food brought in from abroad – perhaps a thrown away food item from a haulier.

However, the national ministry of agriculture has opened a different line of inquiry after concluding that the strain of the pathogen detected in the dead boars in Catalonia is not the same as the one reported to be circulating in other European countries. Investigative findings indicate the identified virus is instead akin to one detected in the country of Georgia in 2007.

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

Laboratory Link Examined

The 'Georgia-2007' virus strain is a 'standard' pathogen frequently employed in scientific studies in containment facilities to research the disease or to test the effectiveness of vaccines, which are presently being developed. The analysis implies that the virus might not have started in animals or meat products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Official Actions and Review

In reaction, Salvador Illa stated he had ordered the regional research body to carry out an inspection of five laboratories that work with the African swine fever pathogen within a 20-kilometer distance of the outbreak site.

"The regional government are not excluding any possibilities when it comes to the origin of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," he said. "Every theory are on the table. Above all, we need to know what happened."

Current Control Efforts

The authorities have confirmed thirteen infections of the virus – each one in dead feral pigs located within six kilometers of the first detection site. Officials added the remains of 37 more animals found in the area have been tested, with every one testing negative for the virus. Specialists dispatched to the 39 pig farms within the surrounding zone have found no trace of the disease there. More than 100 members from the country's emergency response forces have also been deployed to the region to assist law enforcement and wildlife rangers.

Global Context of African Swine Fever

For a long time native to Africa, ASF is harmless to humans but often fatal to pigs. In the year 2018, the disease turned up in China, which is has about half of the global pigs. By 2019, there were fears that as many as one hundred million pigs had been culled or died. Subsequently, the pathogen was detected to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, home to one of the EU’s biggest pig farming industries.

The Country's Crucial Role in Meat Exports

Spain, which is the EU’s biggest producer of pig meat, sold pig meat products worth 5.1 billion euros to other European nations last year, and almost 3.7 billion euros of pig-based goods to markets outside Europe. Official data indicate that the country processed 58 million swine in 2021 – an increase of 40% from a decade earlier.