African swine fever in Catalonia has spread beyond the initial containment zone. Consequently, livestock farmers in Lleida, Spain’s second-largest pig-producing province, are urging the Catalan government to urgently reduce wild boar densities on the outskirts of Barcelona. This call for action follows new detections, raising fears the disease could spread to key commercial farming regions.
Threat to the Pork Industry
The Pig Sanitation Group (GSP), representing independent farmers and cooperatives, has sounded the alarm after new cases were confirmed in Molins de Rei. This location lies outside the original ‘ground zero’ area, suggesting the containment lines may have been breached. Therefore, the sector fears severe economic fallout if the virus crosses from Barcelona into neighbouring provinces.
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Vicens Enrique-Tarancón, coordinator of the GSP, highlighted the international trade implications. Major importers like China implement bans based on specific postal codes. “What the sector needs is to ‘sponge’ [thin out] the wild boar zone. It would be good to build fences to leave the areas as clean as possible,” he argued. “We must do everything possible to prevent it from jumping from Barcelona to other provinces.”
In addition, the GSP has proposed creating a financed safety margin. The industry is willing to fund the necessary infrastructure to protect the white-coated pig farms that form the backbone of the local economy.
A ‘Moderate’ but Dangerous Virus
Compounding the urgency is the specific nature of the virus strain detected. According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Scientific Committee, the ‘Collserola virus’ features a structural genetic deletion of approximately 9.8 kilobases. This suppression of at least 21 genes results in a phenotype of “moderate virulence”.
While a less lethal virus might sound preferable, experts warn it presents a unique tactical danger. Javier Gamboa, a technical director at Mérieux NutriSciences Spain with experience fighting swine fever in Cuba, explained that moderate virulence allows infected animals to survive longer. This enables them to travel further and infect more animals before succumbing to the disease.
Meanwhile, Gamboa criticised the current communication strategy. He urged authorities to stop acting “as if everything were under control” and to release the genomic sequences to the wider scientific community immediately.
Calls for Stricter Containment
Comparing the situation to successful eradication campaigns elsewhere in Europe, experts advocate for more aggressive measures. Belgium and Sweden, the only European nations to eradicate African swine fever without commercial farm contamination, utilised strict isolation strategies.
“The only strategy that has worked to eradicate the plague has been an absolutely militarised scorched-earth policy,” Gamboa stated.
He argued that the perimeter of the initial outbreak zone should have been sealed off completely. A rapid cull of all wild boars, both healthy and sick, within that radius was needed. Therefore, the sector is now calling for the Generalitat to detail a robust contingency plan for high-density livestock areas before the recent expansion of the African swine fever outbreak in Catalonia advances further.
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