Scientistsa consulted a European archive with 800 registered strains.
On Tuesday, the Spanish Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and the Catalan Department of Agriculture ruled out the possibility that the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus detected in wild boar originated from the Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA).
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Cristina Massot, the secretary of the Catalan Department of Agriculture, and Toni Gabaldon, a professor at the IRB, announced the monitoring of the virus found in dead wild boar near the laboratory in Cerdanyola del Valles.
Massot noted that of the 19 samples provided by the laboratory, 17 were monitored, and two frozen samples from five years ago were not used. The IRB also consulted a European archive with 800 registered strains.
Results are expected from the Central Veterinary Laboratory (LCV) in Algete, Madrid, a reference center for ASF. Oscar Ordeig, Catalan Secretary of Agriculture, urged caution and reiterated that an official conclusion will be reached.
🐷 Since 2007, African swine fever (ASF) has spread to over 50 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia & the Americas.
With no effective vaccine, prevention is the most effective strategy.
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— FAO Livestock (@FAOLivestock) December 24, 2025
Gabaldon indicated that the virus corresponds to a previously unregistered variant, number 29, with mutations and loss of part of its genome, which makes it less virulent and less deadly.
The origin of this variant is difficult to determine, as it does not correlate with the existing ones. Ordeig thanked the Department of Agriculture for its work and emphasized the priority of containing the outbreak within a six-kilometer radius.
In November, Spain detected its first cases of African swine fever since 1994 in two wild boars found dead near the IRTA-CReSA research center in Barcelona. Since then, 29 wild boars have died from the disease.
The African swine fever, which poses no risk to humans, has a severe commercial impact. Dozens of countries have blocked more than one hundred export certificates for Spanish pork products since the virus was confirmed.
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Source: EFE
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