Prudence and transparency are needed regarding the origin of swine fever.

In the 1960s, the major outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) that ravaged the Iberian Peninsula for thirty years entered through Portugal, where it had arrived in 1957 via contaminated catering from a flight from Angola. This food was served to a pig farm. From there, it entered Spain by train in Extremadura and then spread throughout the country, which had to close its exports for decades. Therefore, the theory of a contaminated sandwich in the current case wouldn't be far-fetched because this has already happened before. It is, therefore, a plausible hypothesis that remains under consideration. Other possibilities, such as transmission between animals, are also plausible, but less likely because the infected wild boar would have had to quickly cross France, where there are no reported cases. And, also, and this cannot be ruled out, it could have originated in a laboratory, which is what both the Ministry and the Department of Agriculture are currently investigating.

It was a rumor that surfaced a few days after the first case because the Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA) in Bellaterra is located very close to the first outbreak of plague and, moreover, it was there that research was being conducted on the virus in search of a much-needed vaccine. IRTA denied the rumor, stating that while they acknowledge that zero risk does not exist, they maintain that they are a center of research excellence where viral treatments are meticulously controlled. However, this investigation by the administration makes sense given the results of the virus sequencing carried out in European laboratories.

As we learned with COVID-19, viruses mutate, and these mutations allow us to determine their origin or potential initial source. The sequencing revealed that the virus found in the wild boars that died in Collserola does not correspond to the one currently circulating in other European countries. The detected strain, however, is very similar to the one that circulated in Georgia in 2007. And, most worryingly, it matches the strain used in research centers, such as IRTA, to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccines currently being developed. As the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, has stated, we must be very cautious, because further research is still needed and all hypotheses are being considered. But he has also committed, as is to be expected, to providing transparent updates on any new information that emerges. It would be serious and a major blow to the research center if there had been an uncontrolled leak or some case of malpractice, of course, but it would be even more serious if there were an attempt to cover it up and no serious and transparent investigation. Returning to COVID, let's remember that its origin is still unclear due to China's lack of transparency, and there, too, a laboratory in Wuhan was initially suspected. Surely, in the Catalan case, we will eventually learn what happened clearly and, if possible, quickly. We cannot draw conclusions prematurely, but it is necessary to demand a swift investigation, transparency, accountability, and, once conclusions are reached, to see how the damage can be limited and a recurrence prevented.