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Spanish officials probing the recent African swine fever outbreak in the northeastern region are now considering the possibility that the virus could have escaped from a scientific laboratory. Attention has narrowed to five nearby facilities as possible sources.

Outbreak Details and Industry Concerns

Thirteen infections of the virus have been identified in feral pigs in the countryside outside Barcelona beginning on 28 November. This has led the country – the EU’s largest exporter of pig products – to rush to control the outbreak before it becomes a serious risk to the nation's €8.8bn-a-year pork export industry.

Shifting Theories of Origin

At first, regional officials believed the disease may have begun after a boar consumed contaminated food imported from abroad – perhaps a discarded meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the national ministry of agriculture has initiated a different investigation after determining that the strain of the virus detected in the deceased boars in the region is not the same as the one reported to be present in other EU member states. Investigative findings indicate the strain in question is rather akin to one found in Georgia in 2007.

"The discovery of a strain similar to the one that circulated in that country does not, therefore, exclude the possibility that its origin lies in a high-security laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Research Connection Examined

The 'Georgia 2007' virus strain is a 'standard' pathogen frequently employed in scientific studies in containment facilities to research the virus or to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines, which are presently being developed. The report suggests that the virus might not have originated in livestock or meat products from any of the nations where the disease is currently active.

Official Response and Review

In reaction, Salvador Illa stated he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to carry out an inspection of several laboratories that handle the ASF pathogen within a 20km radius of the affected area.

"The regional government are not excluding any possibilities when it comes to the origin of the incident of this disease, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory remain open. Above all, we need to know what happened."

Current Containment Efforts

The agriculture ministry have reported thirteen infections of the virus – each one in dead feral pigs located within 6km of the initial focus. They have said the remains of an additional 37 wild animals found in the area have been analysed, with all testing negative for the virus. Experts sent to the thirty-nine pig farms within the 20km radius have detected no sign of the illness on those farms. Over one hundred members from the country's military emergencies unit have also been deployed to the region to work alongside law enforcement and wildlife rangers.

Worldwide Context of ASF

For a long time native to the African continent, ASF is not dangerous to people but often fatal to swine. In 2018, the virus turned up in China, which is has about 50% of the world’s pigs. By 2019, there were fears that as many as one hundred million animals had been lost. Two years later, the pathogen was confirmed to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, home to one of the EU’s biggest pig farming industries.

Spain's Pivotal Role in Pork Production

The nation, which is the EU’s largest pork producer, exported pork products worth €5.1bn to other EU countries last year, and almost €3.7bn of pork products to destinations outside Europe. National statistics indicate that the country processed 58 million pigs in the year 2021 – an rise of forty percent from a ten years prior.