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Spanish authorities probing the ongoing African swine fever incident in Catalonia are now exploring the chance that the disease may have escaped from a scientific laboratory. Their focus has narrowed to five local facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Concerns

Thirteen cases of the fever have been confirmed in feral pigs in the rural areas outside the Catalan capital beginning on 28 November. This has prompted the country – the EU’s largest pork exporter – to scramble to contain the outbreak before it becomes a significant risk to the country's multi-billion euro pig meat export industry.

Evolving Investigative Focus

Initially, local authorities believed the outbreak may have begun after a wild boar consumed infected food imported from outside Spain – perhaps a discarded food item from a truck driver.

However, the Spanish ministry of agriculture has initiated a different line of inquiry after concluding that the variant of the pathogen detected in the deceased boars in Catalonia is not the same as the one known to be present in other EU member states. According to a report suggest the strain in question is instead akin to one found in the country of Georgia in the year 2007.

"This finding of a strain like the one that circulated in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the chance that its source lies in a high-security laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Laboratory Link Examined

The 'Georgia-2007' viral strain is a 'reference' virus commonly used in experimental infections in secure labs to study the disease or to test the effectiveness of vaccines, which are presently being developed. The analysis suggests that the outbreak might not have originated in animals or meat products from any of the nations where the disease is currently active.

Government Response and Review

In reaction, the regional president of Catalonia announced he had ordered the Catalan agrifood research institute to carry out an audit of several facilities that handle the ASF virus within a 20km distance of the outbreak site.

"We isn’t ruling out any scenarios when it comes to the origin of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory are open. Above all, we need to understand the facts."

Latest Containment Measures

The authorities have reported 13 cases of the virus – all of them in deceased wild boar located within six kilometers of the first detection site. Officials added the remains of an additional 37 wild animals discovered in the zone have been analysed, with all testing negative for the virus. Experts sent to the thirty-nine swine operations within the 20km radius have detected no sign of the disease on those farms. Over 100 personnel from the country's military emergencies unit have also been deployed to the area to assist police officers and forestry agents.

Global Background of ASF

Long native to Africa, African swine fever is harmless to people but frequently deadly to pigs. In the year 2018, the virus turned up in the People's Republic of China, which is has about half of the global pigs. By 2019, there were fears that up to 100 million pigs had been lost. Two years later, the virus was detected to be in Germany, a country with one of the European Union's largest pig farming industries.

Spain's Pivotal Role in Pork Production

The nation, which is the EU’s largest producer of pig meat, sold pork products worth 5.1 billion euros to other EU countries in the previous year, and almost €3.7bn of pork products to markets outside Europe. National statistics indicate that the country processed 58 million pigs in the year 2021 – an increase of 40% from a ten years prior.