2025 Catalonia swine fever outbreak
In November and December 2025, a major outbreak of African swine fever occurred in wild boars in Catalonia, Spain. Thirteen boars have been killed by the virus, and several countries halted imports of Catalonian pork in response.
Background
[edit]Spain is the largest pork producer in the European Union and the second-largest pork exporter in the world, exporting 8.8 billion euros of pork products in 2024.[1][2][3] Catalonia accounts for around 8% of Spain's pork production.[3][4]
African swine fever is caused by African swine fever virus. ASF is harmless to humans, but is extremely infectious in pigs and often fatal. The disease can survive for upwards of several months in processed meat.[1] ASF has no vaccine or cure.[2] The last time that an infection of ASF was reported in Spain was in 1994.[3]
Outbreak
[edit]On 28 November 2025, an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was reported in the municipality of Bellaterra in Catalonia.[5][1] Two dead boars had been found that tested positive for the virus. On 2 December, a further seven boars tested positive for ASF.[1] By 7 December, a total of 13 wild boars had been killed by the virus.[5]
No new cases have been reported as of 8 December, leaving the total infected at 13.[6]
Origin
[edit]The origin was originally believed to be cold meat, perhaps dropped by someone driving through the area, but this was ruled out after investigation.[1][6] However, on 7 December, Spanish authorities began investigating the possibility that it may have started as a lab leak from any of five local research centres.[5][7] In particular, the nearby Centre for Research in Animal Health, IRTA-CReSA, was investigated.[2][8]
The strain of virus does not match any strains found nearby in Europe; instead, it was similar to a strain found in Georgia in 2007.[5]
On 13 November, a report was published by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture that pointed to Russia as a possible source for the virus. The virus entered Russia from Georgia in 2007 and has since spread north across the country.[9]
Responses
[edit]Most government efforts centred around the effort to avoid the spread of the virus to Catalonia's pork farms.[6] 117 members of the Spanish military emergency unit were deployed to the area to study and help contain the outbreak, along with over 1,000 members of the Catalan police force.[1][10] Spain's agriculture minister, Luis Planas, met on 2 December with represented with the national pork industry.[1] The national government approved a €10 million aid package to lessen the economic impact of the disease.[5] The regional president of Catalonia ordered an audit into several meat farms and laboratories in the area, and a committee was formed.[5][6] The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, defended plans to reduce the population of boars in the region, saying "There are too many".[11]
On 9 December, the Catalan government declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak.[2] A high-risk area comprising 12 municipalities was declared in which certain outdoor activities are restricted, including hunting, camping, activities with dogs, and some access to natural areas.[2][10][12] A larger low-risk area was also created with less restrictions.[2] Collserola Natural Park was completely closed.[10]
China halted imports of pork from Barcelona province in response to the outbreak.[1][6] The United Kingdom halted imports from the entire Catalonia region.[2] South Korea paused imports from within 20 kilometres of the location of the outbreak, but kept importing pork from elsewhere in Spain. Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, and Thailand paused all Spanish pork imports.[3][6][13] Due to Spain's regionalisation efforts, imports from the rest of Spain went largely unaffected.[3]
Several companies, including the Jorge Group, laid off many workers in response to the pressures of the crisis.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Jones, Sam (2025-12-02). "Nine boars found dead in Spanish swine fever outbreak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g "State of emergency declared in Spain over African swine fever". Metro. 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ a b c d e "African swine fever in Spain alters global pork trade landscape". National Hog Farmer. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ tom@kiwaradio.com (2025-12-09). "First confirmation of ASF in Spain since 1994". KIWA Radio. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ a b c d e f Jones, Sam (2025-12-07). "African swine fever outbreak in Spain may have leaked from research lab, officials say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ a b c d e f Figuls, Josep Catà (2025-12-08). "La Generalitat asegura que el foco de peste porcina sigue "contenido" y confirma que Corea del Sur seguirá importando carne de cerdo". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ Devereux, Charlie; Faus, Joan (2025-12-06). "Spain probes whether swine fever outbreak was caused by lab leak". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2025-12-06. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ "La Generalitat presenta su 'selección' de expertos para averiguar si el brote de peste porcina africana de Barcelona salió de un laboratorio". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ Thykjaer, Christina (2025-12-09). "Cataluña declara la emergencia por el brote de peste porcina mientras un juez investiga el origen" [Catalonia declares a state of emergency due to the outbreak of swine fever while a judge investigates its origin]. Euronews (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ a b c "Over a thousand police deployed to monitor access to African swine fever zones". Catalan News. 2025-12-06. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ Penaba, Leandre Ibar (2025-12-09). "The Government defends the "full independence" of the committee investigating the origin of the swine fever outbreak". Ara in English. Archived from the original on 2025-12-09. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ a b "50 jabalíes muertos, en la "zona cero" del brote de peste porcina". euronews (in Spanish). 2025-12-03. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ "Catalonia, Mexico Discuss Steps to Resume Pork Trade". Mexico Business. 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2025-12-10.