The search took place at the Centre for Research in Animal Health (CReSA) and was conducted on the basis of a court order. According to the police, the action forms part of preliminary proceedings, which have currently been declared confidential. The search was ordered by an investigating judge following the emergence of suspicions regarding a possible laboratory origin of the virus.
These suspicions were triggered by the results of genomic sequencing of the ASF virus. Studies showed that the strain detected in Catalonia is genetically similar to variants used in scientific research and vaccine development and differs from strains currently circulating in other European countries. This discrepancy strengthened the hypothesis of a potential laboratory leak.
CReSA did not immediately comment on the search to the media. However, in an earlier statement to the fact-checking platform Maldita.es, the laboratory said it had found no evidence linking it to the outbreak and had detected no signs of a virus leak.
African swine fever poses no risk to human health, but it is extremely dangerous for pigs and wild boar and spreads rapidly. Spain is the largest pork producer in the European Union, accounting for around a quarter of total EU output. As a result, even a localized ASF outbreak represents a serious threat to the sector and to exports.
Following the detection of the virus, Spanish authorities imposed movement restrictions in the affected area, intensified monitoring of wild fauna and stepped up communication with trading partners in an effort to maintain confidence in Spanish pork products.
The current outbreak is Spain’s first since 1994. All confirmed cases to date have been recorded exclusively in wild animals in the Collserola hills near Barcelona. According to official data, the virus has been detected in 26 wild boar carcasses within the six-kilometre restriction zone established after the outbreak. The CReSA laboratory is also located within this zone.
So far, no cases of ASF have been reported on commercial pig farms. However, the investigation is ongoing, and its findings could have a significant impact on Spain’s domestic biosecurity policy as well as on its international pork trade relations.