African swine fever has been confirmed in Barcelona for the first time in over three decades, with two wild boars testing positive for the highly contagious disease in Cerdanyola del Vallès.
The Catalan government has immediately activated its emergency contingency plan following the discovery of the deceased animals on November 25th and 26th.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, this marks the first detection of African swine fever in Spain since November 1994.
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The disease presents near 100% mortality rates in affected animals and causes severe haemorrhagic lesions in skin and internal organs.
African swine fever containment measures implemented
Technical teams from the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, alongside Rural Agents, have swiftly implemented protocol measures in the affected area. Consequently, they have established search operations for additional deceased animals while deploying capture traps and disinfection materials to a logistical centre in Torreferrussa.
The Animal Health Service has defined a 20-kilometre surveillance zone radiating from where the infected boars were discovered. Furthermore, they have restricted all live animal movements and slaughterhouse transfers from farms within this radius.
The containment area includes multiple municipalities such as Mollet, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Montcada, La Llagosta, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Polinyà, Terrassa, parts of Barcelona neighbourhoods, Sabadell and Collserola Natural Park. This development comes as Barcelona’s local government faces multiple urban challenges requiring coordinated responses.
Meanwhile, authorities emphasize that African swine fever poses no risk to human health. The disease exclusively affects domestic pigs, European wild boars and African warthogs. Some virus strains demonstrate such high virulence that infected animals typically die within 2-10 days, with mortality rates approaching 100%.
The timing presents significant economic concerns for Catalonia’s pork industry. Pork exports constitute 19.3% of the region’s total food and beverage exports for 2024, making containment efforts critically important for both agricultural and economic stability. This situation echoes recent regional challenges affecting Catalonia’s economic sectors.
Authorities continue monitoring the situation closely while implementing all necessary biosecurity measures to prevent further spread of African swine fever beyond the initial detection zone.
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