Spain’s military emergency unit was deployed on Dec. 1 to help contain an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) near Barcelona. On Nov. 28, Spain confirmed the first outbreak of ASF since 1994 in wild boar.
Two wild boar were found dead in Collserola Park, about 13 miles from Barcelona. They tested positive for ASF, prompting establishment of a 3.7-mile exclusion zone around the affected area. Officials suspect the wild boar ate contaminated food such as a sandwich, Reuters reports.
The infected area is close to the AP-7 highway, which is a major transport route that links Spain and France, Reuters reports. The absence of infected wild boar in Catalonia and France suggests human transportation of contaminated food could have introduced the deadly virus.
Although ASF poses no human health or food safety risk, the virus rapidly spreads among domestic and wild pigs and causes a significant economic risk to Spain, one of the world’s largest pork exporters.
As of Saturday, about one-third of the country’s pork export certificates had been blocked as a result of the outbreak, though no farms have been affected so far, the article said. Of the 400 export certificates to 104 countries, a third are blocked, including Mexico, Taiwan and China. Pork operations within a 12.4-mile radius of the initial infection site are facing operating and sales restrictions.
On Sunday, eight more wild boar suspected of having ASF were found near Barcelona, according to La Vanguardia newspaper. According to Reuters, the newspaper cited sources close to the Catalan agriculture ministry.
To date, two cases have been confirmed, while 12 others have shown signs they may also have the disease but are undergoing tests to confirm this. If confirmed, it would bring the number of infected animals to 14.
Read more about the history of ASF in Spain:
Sánchez-Vizcaíno Tells How Spain Stopped African Swine Fever
