On Thursday, Mossos d’Esquadra and the Guardia Civil conducted a raid on the IRTA-CreSa laboratory in Cerdanyola (Barcelona), suspected of being linked to the outbreak of African swine fever. The laboratory, located less than a kilometer from where infected wild boars were found, has been studying this pathogen for years.
Following a court order investigating the origin of the virus, agents were deployed at the facility this morning as part of an investigation under seal. Until this point, the main hypothesis authorities were considering was that the ASF outbreak originated from a contaminated sandwich that a wild boar had eaten from a garbage bin.
The discovery of a virus similar to the one that circulated in Georgia "does not, therefore, rule out that its origin could be in a biological confinement facility," stated the Ministry of Agriculture.
This action came after the court received the official report and initiated proceedings for an alleged environmental crime, following the Ministry of Agriculture's indication that the outbreak could have originated from the CreSa facility.
In a brief statement, both forces detailed that the entry and search of the laboratory are being carried out following the protocols and safety measures required by such research centers.
The decision to raid the lab was made after receiving a report from the EU's reference laboratory, which explained that all viruses currently circulating in member states belong to genetic groups 2-28, and not to the new genetic group 29, to which the agent causing the outbreak in the province of Barcelona belongs, which is very similar to the one that circulated in Georgia in 2007.
