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Spanish officials probing the ongoing African swine fever incident in the northeastern region are now exploring the possibility that the disease may have escaped from a research facility. Attention has shifted to five nearby facilities as possible sources.

Confirmed Cases and Industry Stakes

Thirteen infections of the virus have been confirmed in feral pigs in the countryside outside the Catalan capital since 28 November. This has led the country – the EU’s largest pork exporter – to scramble to contain the situation before it becomes a serious threat to the nation's multi-billion euro pork export industry.

Evolving Theories of Origin

At first, regional authorities believed the disease may have begun after a boar ate infected food brought in from outside Spain – perhaps a discarded meat sandwich from a truck driver.

However, the Spanish agriculture ministry has opened a new investigation after concluding that the variant of the virus detected 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 rather similar to one found in Georgia in the year 2007.

"The discovery of a virus similar to the one that was present in that country does not, therefore, rule out the possibility that its source is a high-security laboratory," said the agriculture department.

Research Link Examined

The 'Georgia 2007' virus strain is a 'standard' virus frequently employed in experimental infections in secure labs to study the virus or to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, which are currently under development. The analysis implies that the outbreak may not have originated in livestock or animal products from any of the countries where the infection is currently active.

Official Response and Audit

In reaction, Salvador Illa announced he had instructed the Catalan agrifood research institute to conduct an audit of several facilities that handle the African swine fever pathogen within a 20km radius of the affected area.

"We are not excluding any possibilities when it comes to the origin of the incident of African swine fever, but neither is it confirming any," the official stated. "Every theory remain on the table. Above all, we need to understand the facts."

Latest Containment Measures

The authorities have confirmed thirteen infections of the disease – all of them in deceased feral pigs located within 6km of the first detection site. They have said the corpses of 37 more animals found in the area have been tested, with all testing negative for the virus. Experts sent to the 39 pig farms within the surrounding zone have found no sign of the illness on those farms. Over 100 personnel from the nation's military emergencies unit have additionally been deployed to the area to work alongside law enforcement and forestry agents.

Worldwide Background of ASF

Long endemic to Africa, African swine fever is not dangerous to people but often deadly to pigs. In the year 2018, the disease emerged in the People's Republic of China, which is has about 50% of the world’s pigs. By the following year, there were fears that up to 100 million pigs had been culled or died. Two years later, the pathogen was confirmed to be in Germany, home to one of the EU’s biggest swine herds.

The Country's Pivotal Role in Pork Exports

The nation, which is the European Union's largest pork producer, exported pig meat products worth 5.1 billion euros to other European nations in the previous year, and nearly 3.7 billion euros of pork products to destinations outside Europe. National statistics show that Spain processed fifty-eight million swine in the year 2021 – an increase of forty percent from a decade earlier.