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National authorities investigating the recent African swine fever outbreak in the northeastern region are now considering the possibility that the disease may have originated from a research facility. Attention has narrowed to several nearby facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Stakes

A total of thirteen cases of the fever have been confirmed in feral pigs in the rural areas outside Barcelona since 28 November. This has prompted Spain – the EU’s biggest exporter of pig products – to scramble to control the outbreak before it escalates into a serious risk to the country's €8.8bn-a-year pork export industry.

Evolving Theories of Origin

At first, regional officials suspected the outbreak may have begun after a boar ate contaminated meat products brought in from outside Spain – perhaps a thrown away meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the Spanish agriculture ministry has initiated a new line of inquiry after concluding that the variant of the virus detected in the dead animals in Catalonia is different from the one reported to be present in other European countries. According to a report indicate the identified virus is instead akin to one found in 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 biological containment facility," stated the ministry.

Research Connection Explored

The 'Georgia-2007' virus strain is a 'standard' pathogen commonly employed in scientific studies in secure labs to research the disease or to evaluate the efficacy of treatments, which are currently under development. The report suggests that the virus might not have originated in animals or animal products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Official Actions and Audit

In reaction, Salvador Illa announced he had ordered the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an inspection of five facilities that work with the ASF virus within a 20km radius of the outbreak site.

"The regional government are not excluding any scenarios when it comes to the origin of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," he said. "All hypotheses remain on the table. First and foremost, we need to understand what happened."

Current Control Measures

The authorities have confirmed thirteen infections of the disease – all of them in dead feral pigs located within 6km of the first detection site. Officials added the corpses of 37 more animals found in the zone have been analysed, with all testing negative for the virus. Experts sent to the 39 swine operations within the surrounding zone have found no trace of the disease on those farms. More than one hundred personnel from the nation's military emergencies unit have also been deployed to the region to assist police officers and wildlife rangers.

Global Background of African Swine Fever

For a long time endemic to the African continent, African swine fever is not dangerous to humans but often deadly to swine. In the year 2018, the disease turned up in the People's Republic of China, which is has about half of the world’s pig population. By the following year, there were concerns that up to one hundred million animals had been culled or died. Subsequently, the pathogen was detected to be in Germany, home to one of the EU’s biggest swine herds.

The Country's Pivotal Position in Meat Exports

Spain, which is the European Union's biggest producer of pig meat, exported pork products worth €5.1bn to other EU countries in the previous year, and nearly €3.7bn of pig-based goods to destinations outside the bloc. National statistics show that Spain processed fifty-eight million pigs in the year 2021 – an rise of 40% from a decade earlier.