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Spanish officials probing the recent African swine fever outbreak in Catalonia are now exploring the chance that the disease could have originated from a research facility. Their focus has narrowed to several nearby labs as potential points of origin.

Outbreak Details and Economic Concerns

Thirteen cases of the fever have been identified in feral pigs in the countryside outside Barcelona since 28 November. This has prompted Spain – the European Union's largest exporter of pig products – to scramble to contain the outbreak before it becomes a serious risk to the country's multi-billion euro pork export industry.

Evolving Theories of Origin

Initially, local authorities believed the disease started after a boar consumed infected food brought in from outside Spain – perhaps a discarded meat sandwich from a truck driver.

However, the Spanish agriculture ministry has opened a different investigation after concluding that the strain of the virus found in the deceased boars in Catalonia is not the same as the one known to be present in other European countries. Investigative findings indicate the strain in question is rather similar to one found in Georgia in the year 2007.

"This finding of a strain like the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its origin is a biological containment laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Research Link Explored

The 'Georgia 2007' viral strain is a 'reference' virus frequently employed in experimental infections in containment facilities to research the virus or to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, which are currently being developed. The analysis implies that the virus might not have originated in livestock or animal products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Official Actions and Review

In response, Salvador Illa stated he had instructed the regional research body to carry out an inspection of five facilities that handle the ASF pathogen within a 20km radius of the outbreak site.

"We isn’t ruling out any scenarios when it comes to the source of the outbreak of African swine fever, but nor are we confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory are open. Above all, we need to know the facts."

Latest Containment Efforts

The agriculture ministry have reported 13 cases of the virus – each one in dead wild boar located within six kilometers of the initial focus. They have said the corpses of an additional 37 wild animals discovered in the zone have been analysed, with all showing no infection for swine fever. Specialists dispatched to the 39 pig farms within the surrounding zone have detected no trace of the disease there. Over 100 personnel from the nation's emergency response forces have also been deployed to the area to work alongside law enforcement and wildlife rangers.

Worldwide Background of African Swine Fever

Long endemic to Africa, ASF is harmless to humans but often fatal to swine. In 2018, the disease emerged in the People's Republic of China, which is home to about half of the world’s pig population. By the following year, there were concerns that as many as one hundred million pigs had been lost. Two years later, the pathogen was confirmed to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, a country with one of the European Union's largest pig farming industries.

Spain's Pivotal Position in Pork Exports

Spain, which is the EU’s largest producer of pig meat, sold pig meat products worth €5.1bn 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 slaughtered fifty-eight million pigs in the year 2021 – an rise of 40% from a decade earlier.