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National officials probing the ongoing African swine fever incident in the northeastern region are now considering the chance that the disease could have originated from a research facility. Attention has shifted to several local labs as potential points of origin.

Outbreak Details and Economic Stakes

Thirteen cases of the fever have been identified in feral pigs in the rural areas outside Barcelona since 28 November. This has prompted the country – the EU’s biggest pork exporter – to rush to control the outbreak before it becomes a serious threat to the nation's multi-billion euro pig meat export industry.

Shifting Theories of Origin

At first, regional authorities suspected the outbreak started after a wild boar consumed contaminated meat products imported from abroad – perhaps a thrown away meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the national agriculture ministry has initiated 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 present in other EU member states. According to a report suggest the strain in question is rather similar to one found in the country of Georgia in 2007.

"This finding of a strain like the one that was present in Georgia does not, therefore, rule out the chance that its origin is a biological containment facility," said the agriculture department.

Research Connection Examined

The 'Georgia-2007' viral strain is a 'reference' virus frequently used in experimental infections in secure labs to research the disease or to test the effectiveness of vaccines, which are presently under development. The report suggests that the virus might not have started in animals or meat products from any of the nations where the infection is currently active.

Official Response and Review

In response, the regional president of Catalonia announced he had ordered the regional research body to carry out an inspection of five laboratories that handle the African swine fever virus within a 20-kilometer radius of the affected area.

"The regional government are not excluding any scenarios when it comes to the source of the outbreak of this disease, but nor are we confirming any," the official stated. "All hypotheses are on the table. First and foremost, we need to understand what happened."

Current Control Efforts

The authorities have reported thirteen infections of the virus – each one in deceased feral pigs found within 6km of the initial focus. They have said the corpses of an additional 37 wild animals discovered in the area have been analysed, with all showing no infection for swine fever. Specialists sent to the 39 swine operations within the 20km radius have found no sign of the disease on those farms. Over 100 personnel from the country's emergency response forces have additionally been sent to the area to assist law enforcement and wildlife rangers.

Global Background of ASF

Long native to the African continent, ASF is not dangerous to people but often fatal to pigs. In 2018, the virus emerged in the People's Republic of China, which is has about half of the world’s pigs. By the following year, there were fears that up to 100 million animals had been lost. Subsequently, the pathogen was confirmed to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, a country with one of the EU’s biggest pig farming industries.

The Country's Crucial Position in Pork Production

The nation, which is the European Union's largest producer of pig meat, sold pork products worth 5.1 billion euros to other EU countries last year, and nearly €3.7bn of pig-based goods to markets outside Europe. Official statistics indicate that the country processed 58 million pigs in 2021 – an increase of forty percent from a decade earlier.