By Charlie Devereux and Joan Faus
MADRID/BARCELONA, December 5 (Reuters) — Catalonia’s regional government announced on Friday that it would be investigating a research center situated outside Barcelona. This comes after the Agriculture Ministry of Spain warned that the recent outbreak of swine fever might have emerged from a laboratory leak.
As the leading pork producer in the EU, Spain is working hard to maintain confidence among its trade partners after testing revealed that 13 wild boars in the hills surrounding Barcelona were infected with the virus. While the disease poses no threat to humans, it can be catastrophic for pigs and wild boars.
The Agriculture Ministry revealed that genome sequencing from a lab in Madrid showed that the virus strain was “very similar” to one first identified in Georgia back in 2007, a strain which is frequently used for research and vaccine development. Other recorded cases in Europe fall into a different genetic variant.
The ministry also noted, “The identification of a virus akin to the Georgia strain does not eliminate the chance that its origins could be related to a biological containment facility.” Until now, there had been speculation that the disease spread when a wild boar consumed tainted food, potentially a sandwich from an overseas truck driver.
“The findings indicate that it’s possible the virus did not originate from animals or animal products from regions currently experiencing outbreaks,” the statement continued.
While no specific laboratories were mentioned, Catalonia’s agriculture chief, Oscar Ordeig, indicated that the government would start probing the Centre for Research in Animal Health (Cresa), which is funded by the state.
Cresa is located adjacent to the Autonomous University of Barcelona, within the six-kilometer confinement zone established after the outbreak. Ordeig suggested that additional labs may also fall under scrutiny.
In 2017, Cresa was recognized by the World Organization of Animal Health as a center specialized in swine fever research.
Responding to inquiries, the laboratory stated they had found no evidence linking them to the outbreak, as reported by the news verification platform Maldita.es.
The “Georgia 2007” strain of swine fever subsequently spread to places like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Belarus, making its way to eastern EU nations in 2014. It also affected China in 2018, leading to significant financial losses, with Chinese pig meat production plummeting by 27% in 2019.
