African swine fever outbreak suspected to have originated from lab leak
Around 90 municipalities in northeastern Spain have been quarantined following an outbreak of a highly contagious disease in pigs.
Thirteen cases of African swine fever have been confirmed in dead wild boars in Catalonia.
It is suspected the outbreak started after the disease was leaked from a laboratory in the Spanish region where scientists were experimenting with it just days before.
Investigators are assessing the possibility that the leak came from Research Centre on Animal Health (CReSA) in Bellaterra, north of Barcelona.
The Catalan government has declared an emergency over the outbreak.
Restrictions were imposed within a 6km contamination zone and a wider 20km infected area.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environmentand Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, African swine fever is a ‘highly contagious’ viral disease of pigs.
‘In its acute form the disease generally results in high mortality.’
African swine fever is a different disease to swine flu as the virus does not affect people and there is no impact on human health.
Spanish authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak in a bid to protect the country’s pork export industry – estimated to be worth £7.7billion annually.
More than 40 countries have reportedly imposed bans on Spanish pork imports.
The research lab where the leak is believed to have started scheduled two experiments for different strains of the disease for late November.
A report produced by Spain’s National Biosafety Commission said this was the same period in which the first wild boar infected with African swine fever appeared only metres away from the research centre.
How to spot African swine fever
According to the UK government website, these are the main signs of African swine fever:
- Fever
- Depression
- Recumbency (lying down or reclining)
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of energy
- Sudden death with few signs beforehand
Other signs can include:
- Red or dark skin – particularly on the ears and snout
- Discharges from the eyes and nose
- Laboured breathing and coughing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Abortion in pregnant sows
- Weakness
- Unsteady gait (walk)
However there are several different strains of African swine fever – and pigs infected with mild types of the disease may not become ill or show typical clinical signs.
Severe strains are generally fatal.
The UK’s National Pig Association reports that the Catalan government is considering reducing wild boar populations in the region in the aftermath of the outbreak.
More than 30,000 wild boars could be culled to halt the spread, authorities said.
Cases have been found in 17 other European countries. These include:
- Bulgaria
- Estonia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Moldova
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Sardinia
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Ukraine
Cases have also been confirmed in Asia, including in Cambodia China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – and elsewhere, such as in the Dominican Republic and Haiti and some African countries including South Africa.
The UK government said that while cases have not been found in all parts of these countries, there is risk that people travelling to them risk bringing the disease here if they have contact with pigs or wild boars – such as on farms or smallholdings – or visit areas where wild boars may live, including forests or woodland.
It has advised that people travelling to these countries should clean and disinfect clothing, footwear, vehicles and equipment before they return to the UK and have contact with pigs or visit areas where wild boars live.
Metro has approached the Research Centre on Animal Health for comment.
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