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National authorities probing the recent African swine fever incident in the northeastern region are now considering the possibility that the virus may have escaped from a scientific laboratory. Attention has narrowed to five local labs as possible sources.

Outbreak Details and Industry Concerns

A total of thirteen cases of the virus have been identified in wild boars in the countryside outside the Catalan capital since 28 November. This has led Spain – the EU’s biggest exporter of pig products – to scramble to contain the situation before it escalates into a serious threat to the country's multi-billion euro pork export sector.

Shifting Investigative Focus

Initially, local authorities suspected the outbreak started after a wild boar ate contaminated food imported from outside Spain – perhaps a discarded meat sandwich from a haulier.

However, the national agriculture ministry has opened a new line of inquiry after concluding that the strain of the pathogen found in the dead animals in the region is not the same as the one known to be present in other European countries. 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 virus like the one that was present in that country does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its origin is a high-security facility," stated the agriculture department.

Laboratory Link Examined

The 'Georgia 2007' virus strain is a 'reference' virus frequently employed in experimental infections in containment facilities to research the disease or to test the effectiveness of treatments, which are presently being developed. The report suggests that the virus might not have started in animals or animal products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Government Response and Audit

In reaction, Salvador Illa stated he had ordered the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an audit of several laboratories that work with the African swine fever pathogen within a 20km distance of the outbreak site.

"We are not excluding any scenarios when it comes to the origin of the incident of this disease, but nor are we confirming any," the official stated. "All hypotheses are on the table. First and foremost, we need to know the facts."

Current Control Measures

The agriculture ministry have confirmed thirteen infections of the virus – all of them in dead feral pigs found within six kilometers of the initial focus. Officials added the remains of 37 more wild animals found in the zone have been tested, with all showing no infection for swine fever. Experts dispatched to the 39 swine operations within the surrounding zone have found no sign of the disease there. More than one hundred members from the country's military emergencies unit have also been sent to the region to assist law enforcement and forestry agents.

Worldwide Background of African Swine Fever

Long native to the African continent, African swine fever is harmless to people but often fatal to pigs. In the year 2018, the disease emerged 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 as many as one hundred million animals had been culled or died. Two years later, the virus was detected to be in the Federal Republic of Germany, a country with one of the EU’s biggest pig farming industries.

The Country's Crucial Role in Pork Exports

The nation, which is the European Union's biggest producer of pig meat, sold pig meat products worth €5.1bn to other EU countries last year, and nearly €3.7bn of pig-based goods to markets outside the bloc. National data show that Spain slaughtered fifty-eight million pigs in 2021 – an rise of 40% from a ten years prior.