{"id":174,"date":"2025-12-14T14:47:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T14:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/?p=174"},"modified":"2025-12-14T14:47:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T14:47:46","slug":"african-swine-fever-outbreak-suspected-to-have-originated-from-lab-leak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luxuury.net\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"African swine fever outbreak suspected to have originated from lab leak"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rural<\/p>\n

Around 90 municipalities in northeastern Spain have been quarantined following an outbreak of a highly contagious disease in pigs.<\/p>\n

Thirteen cases of African swine fever have been confirmed in dead wild boars in\u00a0Catalonia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Investigators are assessing the possibility that the leak came from Research Centre on Animal\u00a0Health<\/a>\u00a0(CReSA) in Bellaterra, north of\u00a0Barcelona<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>
A member of the Spanish Emergency Military Unit disinfects a vehicle after working in a restricted area due to the African swine fever outbreak near Barcelona (Picture: REUTERS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Catalan government has declared an emergency over the outbreak.<\/p>\n

Restrictions were imposed within a 6km contamination zone and a wider 20km infected area.<\/p>\n

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environmentand Rural Affairs in\u00a0Northern Ireland<\/a>, African swine fever is a \u2018highly contagious\u2019 viral disease of pigs.<\/p>\n

\u2018In its acute form the disease generally results in high mortality.\u2019<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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This graphic shows the high risk and low risk areas of African swine fever in Spain (Picture: Metro)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"A<\/div>
The Animal Health Research Center in Bellaterra, Barcelona, where the outbreak is believed to have started (Picture: EPA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spanish authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak in a bid to protect the country\u2019s pork export industry \u2013 estimated to be worth \u00a37.7billion annually.<\/p>\n

More than 40 countries have reportedly imposed bans on Spanish pork imports.<\/p>\n

The research lab where the leak is believed to have started scheduled two experiments for different strains of the disease for late November.<\/p>\n

A report produced by Spain\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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How to spot African swine fever<\/h2>\n
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According to the UK government website, these are the main signs of African swine fever:<\/p>\n