African swine fever cases in Catalonia have increased to 27 after a new positive detection in a wild boar in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the latest case, which expands the outbreak to ten distinct infection zones.
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This development has forced authorities to modify the official infected area, incorporating four new municipalities into the surveillance perimeter.
Consequently, the municipalities of Begues, Gavà, Olesa de Bonesvalls, and Subirats have now been included within the 20-kilometre radius control zone. The infected animal was a symptomatic boar culled within the existing high-risk area, a six-kilometre radius around the initial case. However, its location within Sant Cugat del Vallès marks a shift from previous cases concentrated in Cerdanyola del Vallès.
Intensive Surveillance Efforts Continue Amid African Swine Fever Cases
Authorities report that nearly 200 carcasses of animals found dead in the natural environment or on roads and railways have been tested, all with negative results. Furthermore, controls at the 55 pig farms located within the 20-kilometre radius continue to show no symptoms or lesions related to the disease. This suggests, for now, that the outbreak is contained within the wild boar population.
The findings are the result of intense fieldwork by a multi-agency team. This group includes the Generalitat’s Rural Agents Corps, the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Mossos d’Esquadra, the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service (Seprona), and local police. Their work involves extensive searches for boar carcasses and the capture of live animals within the infected zone.
Additionally, isolation measures, fencing, and controls in known boar movement corridors are being reinforced. Officials are evaluating the establishment of new barriers in the high-risk area to minimise the chances of boars moving towards the outer edges of the infected zone. The central and regional administrations emphasise the need to maintain a high alert level with stringent biosecurity measures on farms and in wild boar populations.
According to the Generalitat’s recent commitments to regional protection, managing such cross-boundary environmental and agricultural threats remains a priority. The ongoing response highlights the complex coordination required between different levels of government during a disease outbreak.
This situation also intersects with broader regional economic concerns, as Catalonia’s significant role in Spain’s export economy could be impacted by prolonged restrictions. The continued vigilance aims to prevent the virus from reaching commercial pig farms, which would have severe economic consequences.
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