African swine fever (ASF) has reached Barcelona. A new positive case of a wild boar infected with the virus has been detected within the Barcelona municipality, as reported this afternoon by the Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, who indicated that this new case will appear in tomorrow's official count by the Ministry of Agriculture. This latest positive result has prompted heightened precautions in the Collserola mountain range, where the closure of the natural park has been reinforced, as reported earlier today by the online newspaper. NationOrdeig explained that a resolution will be issued tomorrow to extend access restrictions to the natural environment, specifically expanding them to the entire Collserola Natural Park. "We are continuing with the containment strategy for the epicenter and the entire Collserola area; as you know, closing the entire natural park is impossible," the minister admitted, "but we are implementing a containment strategy and also reinforcing our resources with captures," he continued. The minister detailed that they met this morning with the municipalities affected by the natural park's entry into the highest-risk zone, as well as with the park's consortium, and that the resolution will be made public tomorrow, Thursday. The Minister of Agriculture again asked for patience and insisted that "the solution will not be short-term under any circumstances." Ordeig explained that containing the virus in this area is easier because it borders the Mediterranean Sea on one side, but, conversely, "there is a difficulty" because it is all happening in a densely populated urban area full of businesses, making perimeter closures difficult.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, has announced that 21 new cases of African swine fever have been detected in wild boar. One of these cases was located in Sant Just Desvern, outside the initial area of ​​Cerdanyola del Vallès. This has led to the inclusion of this municipality and Esplugues de Llobregat in the high-risk zone, which now has an expanded perimeter, as confirmed by sources from the Department of Agriculture. With these new cases, the total number of infections has risen to 216. The Department also explained that another 1,708 wild boars tested negative. At an event in Seròs, in the Segrià region, Minister Ordeig emphasized that personnel and resources continue to be deployed as part of the eradication plan in the affected area and urged "great caution." "We are continuing with the strategy of perimeter closures and increasing captures using all necessary means, including drones, snipers, traps, and so on," Ordeig pointed out, adding that some areas have been reinforced. The regional minister expressed "concern" about the impact of the disease on the sector, but also "determination and responsibility," he said, to "act quickly and decisively." He explained that all available personnel from all agencies in Catalonia have been mobilized. "I would ask, please, to let the technicians and professionals do their work," he concluded. Ordeig also called for "a united front and unity of action" among the stakeholders involved in managing the plague, such as the livestock sector, scientists, and government agencies. "We have to do it right and we have to do it quickly, but that takes time," he acknowledged, and also recalled that, of the 25 European countries that registered cases of African swine fever, the fastest to eradicate the disease was Belgium, which took "just over a year to find the last positive case."

The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed a new case of African swine fever (ASF) outside the area where the first outbreak was detected in Collserola. This is the third positive case outside this high-risk surveillance area, and it was detected in a wild boar found dead in Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Following this infection, the Catalan government (Generalitat) again expanded the high-risk zone to include this municipality and, for the first time, part of the city of Barcelona. Specifically, the Can Castellví area in the Vallvidrera neighborhood, Tibidabo, and Les Planes. With these latest changes announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, there are now a total of 16 municipalities included in the high-risk zone, although in the case of Barcelona, ​​only a portion remains affected. Access to the natural environment for any activity is prohibited throughout this area, but passage is permitted to access homes, conduct business, or visit restaurants and sports facilities.

Josep Usall has been the director general of the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) for almost eight years and acknowledges that the last few months have been the most challenging during his tenure at the helm of the institution. The Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA) was until recently at the center of a major controversy due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) detected in Catalonia at the end of last year. Just a week after the first cases were reported, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that I was investigating whether the virus had escaped from a laboratoryThis made the Catalan center the prime suspect in the crisis, as it is located near where the first infected animals were found. Months of accusations and discrediting followed, the initial report of the Spanish government's scientific committee He rules out sabotage, natural transmission, or an accidental laboratory leak as the cause of the crisis.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, has announced that restrictions imposed on 79 Catalan municipalities due to outbreaks of contagious nodular dermatosis (CND) in France will be lifted this Friday, allowing 1,100 cattle farms in the area to resume moving their livestock. "We have a natural barrier of mountains, cold, and snow, and it was unreasonable that we should have to pay the price for the neighboring country's problems, especially given the large radius of the outbreak and the fact that all our farms are vaccinated," Ordeig stated from Lleida. The Minister explained that the decision was made after "intense and lengthy negotiations" between the European Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Catalan Department of Agriculture, "and with close collaboration from the entire sector." However, the regional minister reminded everyone that restrictions due to the dermatosis remain in place in 165 municipalities of the Alt Empordà region, where the last case was detected and where there are 1,079 farms. If all goes well and no new positive cases emerge in that area, this measure could be lifted on February 26. Meanwhile, Ordeig indicated that a solution is being negotiated with the Ministry and the European Commission to ease the movement of animals in the area. The Minister of Agriculture reiterated that the vaccination rate in the areas affected by positive cases is 99% and that a review of all animals is currently underway to ensure that none remain unvaccinated. Furthermore, Ordeig reported that it is "mandatory" for 100% of the animals to be vaccinated before January 31, and warned that "sanctioning procedures" will be initiated if this is not the case.

The Catalan pig farming sector has accumulated losses of approximately €63 million so far due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) detected in Vallès Occidental, according to calculations presented this Tuesday by the farmers' union Unió de Pagesos. Specifically, Catalan farmers have gone from earning approximately €20 per pig on average in 2025 to losing €36 per animal following the detection of the disease in Catalonia. These losses are due to the drop in pork prices and, above all, the loss of foreign markets outside the European Union, since pork is the country's main export industry within the agri-food sector. Furthermore, more than 61,000 head of cattle were quarantined in the province of Barcelona. European, Spanish, and international protocols against the spread of the ASF virus They limit the sale of meat abroad And they stipulate that the entire country will be considered affected by the epidemic until 12 months have passed without any new cases being detected. The fact that the sector has begun operating at a loss is causing concern among farmers. "What we can't do is produce at a loss for an extended period," said Rossend Saltiveri, head of the pig farming sector at Unió de Pagesos, at a press conference in Lleida.

Thirty-six days after the Government confirmed the first positive cases of African swine fever (ASF) The origin of the outbreak of this virus in Catalonia, which has been detected in two wild boars in Collserola, remains unknown. After the media focus shifted to whether the virus had escaped from the IRTA-CReSA laboratory in Bellaterra – this week the first analysis concludes that the Laboratory samples do not match those of the positive cases found outside.Experts insist that the most important thing now is not knowing where the outbreak originated, but finding the right strategies to prevent it from spreading. And in this containment phase, which so far has succeeded in preventing any infections from being detected outside the 6 km radius of ground zero, it is crucial to understand how the new variant of African swine fever (ASF) detected in Bellaterra behaves. "It's a strain that has never been encountered before," explained Toni Gabaldón this week, ICREA research professor at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), the Catalan center that sequenced the virus samples to see if they matched those from IRTA. In fact, the researchers compared the Collserola samples with 800 ASF genomic sequences that exist in public databases worldwide and found that they did not match any of them. Therefore—and as already mentioned— the first report from the European Union laboratory pointed out Four weeks ago, it was discovered that this was a new variant, one that had not been described until now. But what does it mean for it to be a new variant? Is it common to find undescribed variants?

Around 350 tractors blocked the C-25 highway (the Eix Transversal) on Monday morning to protest the overpopulation of wildlife in Catalonia, in a demonstration organized by the main agricultural organizations in the region. The mobilization, which began at 9 a.m., brought farmers to the streets to demand, above all, "control of overpopulations of game animals"—especially wild boar, rabbits, roe deer, and red deer—and a "review" of the Livestock Health Service. The march was supported by Unió de Pagesos, Revolta Pagesa, Asaja, and the Plataforma Pagesos o Conejos (Farmers or Rabbits Platform).

Italy has been battling African swine fever (ASF) since January 2022. There, the pathogen is active in wild boar and has affected several domestic farms. To understand how the virus spreads, a group of Italian researchers from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche (IZSUM) analyzed the illegal domestic trade in wild boar and meat products seized during inspections for lack of labeling or import irregularities. The report, published at the end of November, made a surprising finding: the virus was detected in one out of every four samples analyzed among the illegally imported products. We spoke with Francesco Feliziani, co-author of the report and director of IZUM.

The wild boar population in Catalonia numbered over 200,000 before the arrival of African swine fever (ASF), and over 2.4 million across Spain as a whole. These figures were revealed by the first European wild boar density map, produced by the Health and Biotechnology Research Group of the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC) and the European consortium ENETWILD.

After the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, has ruled out the possibility that the African swine fever (ASF) virus came from the laboratory of the IRTA-CReSA Animal Health Research Center, According to data gathered by the ongoing audit to determine its origin, other hypotheses are gaining traction. These range from the theory that the outbreak was intentional to the "sandwich theory." In fact, it was already known that the area where the first dead wild boar appeared, and where up to 26 other infected animals have been confirmed, was one of the three areas in all of Spain with the highest risk of African swine fever (ASF) entering the country. This was identified in a document prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, which ARA has accessed. The report drew a map of the dangers of introducing and spreading the pathogen and specifically designated that area of Bellaterra as a "priority action area" to try to prevent the disease from reaching Spanish territory. The other two high-risk areas are on the A-6 highway, very close to Madrid, where another level 3 biosafety laboratory, Visavet, is located, and in the outskirts of Málaga.

Initial reports from the audit at the IRTA-CReSA Animal Health Research Center, aimed at determining whether African swine fever (ASF) originated in one of its laboratories, indicate that the facilities and protocols "are in good order" and that everything functioned as it should. This was explained on Friday by the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, following Thursday's findings. A joint operation by the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Civil will search these laboratories within the framework of the investigation to determine the origin of the infections. "Pending some additional documentation that we still need, everything indicates that the facilities are fine, the protocols are correct, and everything has been done properly, according to the experts' audit," the regional minister assured.

The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) and the Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) carried out a search and seizure operation this Thursday at the IRTA-CReSA laboratory, the only facility in Catalonia authorized to handle samples of African swine fever (ASF). The search began shortly after 8:30 a.m. and ended around 11:00 p.m. "It's going to be a long process," police sources said. This action was ordered by the Cerdanyola del Vallès Court of Instruction Number 2 as part of the legal case concerning the outbreak of ASF detected in Collserola, which has been declared secret. The objective is to collect documentation for the investigation that aims to determine whether the outbreak originated from a laboratory leak. The search and seizure of these facilities was carried out following the protocols and security measures required for this type of research center, both police forces stated. According to sources consulted by ARA, this is a first step in what will be a complex investigation. During the search, which lasted more than twelve hours, the officers found a large amount of documentation related to the investigations being carried out at the center, very well organized and compartmentalized. They also had to follow numerous security protocols, and in fact, the objective was precisely to examine them to see if anything went wrong. At this point, according to the same sources, there are no indications pointing in that direction. This is precisely what they came to look for this Thursday. Given its proximity to the origin of the outbreak and the nature of the material they are dealing with—they have samples of African swine fever (ASF)—the sources consulted added, everything had to be thoroughly examined. Several explosives and chemical weapons specialists from both agencies also participated in the police operation. These officers will likely collect samples of the viruses that IRTA works with, also to compare them with those that infected the wild boars and thus verify if they are the same variant. Everything indicates that these samples will be sent to Madrid for analysis. Today's search should be understood as a first step in the investigation, which is still in its very early stages. In other words, the police are beginning to analyze the case and want to obtain as much information as possible from IRTA. To address the case, both police forces have created multidisciplinary teams: the operation is being led by officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra's Environmental Unit and the Guardia Civil's Seprona (Nature Protection Service), as well as agents from the DIC (Criminal Investigation Division), experts in investigation. Throughout the day, IRTA has been heavily guarded by several police vehicles. In the background, the noise of the construction work being carried out on the premises to expand the facility has been present, although The laboratory has already stated that they are not the cause of the outbreak. of plague. The police intervention is very lengthy precisely because all the documentation is highly technical; it needs to be thoroughly analyzed, and taking statements from some workers is not ruled out.

Starting this Monday, the Catalan government is relaxing restrictions on access to the natural areas of municipalities within the second perimeter of the African swine fever outbreak. As confirmed on Friday, access to this area, which is not considered high-risk, is now permitted. Specifically, this area extends from 6 kilometers to 20 kilometers from the epicenter of the outbreak (the point where the first carcasses were found). This includes land in approximately 70 towns, such as Barcelona, ​​Badalona, ​​and L'Hospitalet. However, the same restrictions will remain in place for the municipalities closest to the outbreak: Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès, Bahia del Vallès, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Ripollet, Montcada i Reixac, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Sabadell, Polinyà, Terrassa, and Rubí.

The detection of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar near the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has caused a major uproar: the economic impact could be enormous if pigs on farms become infected. Whatever the cause of this outbreak, the institutional and media response has immediately focused on measures that, implicitly or explicitly, criminalize wildlife—in this case, wild boar. This view, besides being simplistic and tragic, distracts from the real problem.

The Catalan government's Department of Business and Labor has authorized a temporary layoff plan (ERTE) for 458 workers from the temporary employment agency (ETT) Gctplus who worked at a large slaughterhouse in Osona (Barcelona) due to the African swine fever (ASF) crisis, according to reports. The Newspaper And the ARA has been able to confirm this. Therefore, the Catalan administration accepts the objective cause of force majeure alleged by the company, after the four companies for which these employees worked in Santa Eugenia de Berga notified them of their dismissal.

The Catalan government is finalizing the perimeter closure this Thursday, using "fences and other physical barriers," of a 6-kilometer radius in the Collserola area where African swine fever (ASF) was detected. This measure aims to intensify the capture and culling of wild boar, as explained by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Minister indicated that the actions will be carried out within a radius of 4 to 6 kilometers to "create a safety zone free of animals that could spread the virus to either side." This area, now closed off with physical barriers, is the closest to the origin of the ASF outbreak, which is where the first two dead wild boars infected with the virus were found. Following European, national, and Catalan health regulations regarding outbreaks of African swine fever, the Catalan government has declared two different zones affected by the epidemic: the first encompasses municipalities within a 6-kilometer radius of the initial outbreak, considered a "high-risk zone"—where physical barriers will now be erected—and the second, a "low-risk zone" extending 20 kilometers from the outbreak's origin. Currently, movement restrictions not only affect the main outbreak area within the 6-kilometer radius but also extend to a total of 91 towns in the Barcelona metropolitan area within a 20-kilometer radius of the initial outbreak, as well as nearby natural parks. The Department of Agriculture has restricted access to natural areas until December 14, but depending on how the epidemic evolves, this period could be extended starting next Monday.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, stated this Wednesday that the Catalan government intends to halve the wild boar population in Catalonia. To this end, Ordeig announced the creation of the Catalan Wild Boar Roundtable, an organization that will bring together public administrations, hunting associations, and scientists specializing in game wildlife with the aim of more closely monitoring the number of these mammals and their distribution across the region. The overpopulation of wild boar in Catalonia has returned to the public debate following the discovery of 15 dead specimens infected with the African swine fever (ASF) virus. Despite the cases of infected wild boar, Ordeig reiterated that, for the moment, no positive cases have been detected in domestic pigs on the 55 livestock farms located in the 91 municipalities within the area considered affected by ASF. "For the moment, the virus has not entered any farms or any commercial circuit," he declared. "What is our objective? To reduce the wild boar population in Catalonia by 50% in the coming years," Ordeig explained before appearing before the Parliament's Agriculture Committee, where he outlined the Catalan government's actions to curb the outbreak of African swine fever to the parliamentary groups. The minister estimated the number of wild boar in Catalonia at 125,000 "in winter"—that is, before the breeding season—which could reach around 180,000 at peak population. To achieve this objective, Ordeig announced the creation of the Catalan Wild Boar Roundtable, a "governance body" that will include representatives from various public administrations, game scientists, the primary sector, and hunting associations, among others. This committee will be responsible for controlling the wild boar population throughout Catalonia.

In the rural area where I live, near the Montserrat Natural Park, the wild boar and roe deer populations have long been out of control. Not long ago, wild boars killed the dog of a neighboring farmhouse—farmhouses, with their land, had never been fenced in—which confronted them. As I have repeatedly stated, hunters have been demonized by a population even more destructive than the wild boars: tourists. President Isla asks "Increase the capture of wild boar and reduce its negative impact," and Councilor Ordeig explained it this way: "You can say it in one language or another, in Girona, in Lleida, or in the Pyrenees: there are too many wild boar." We've had to put up with those who trample crops because they're taking wedding photos or Instagram videos, and they think hunters are just awful. It can happen that several of these hooligans, all of them caravanners, throw a party with high-proof alcohol, like vodka, in a vineyard. Which they ruin. And they're the ones who lecture us about whether humans are worse than wild boar, and so on and so forth.

The Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, defended on Tuesday the "full independence" and "absolute autonomy" of the group of experts investigating the origin of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Collserola. This committee, created by the Catalan government, must clarify whether the virus arrived from another country—for example, through contaminated meat or other biological remains of infected pigs—or whether, as currently seems more likely, it originated in a laboratory, possibly the Animal Health Research Center (Cresa-Irs), or in wild boars that died from the virus. "No one has more desire, incentive, and willingness to clarify" the origin of the outbreak than the Catalan government, Ordeig said at a press conference. According to the regional minister, the members of the committee, appointed this Sunday, are "recognized experts from other institutions" outside of Cresa and, therefore, have full capacity to freely investigate the origin of the epidemic. "We are letting the scientists do their work," he reiterated.