Four external experts and two from IRTA: who will conduct the audit to determine if swine fever originated in a laboratory?

BarcelonaThe Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, announced on Monday the names of the six internationally renowned specialists who will form the committee tasked with auditing the facilities and protocols of centers and laboratories working with the African swine fever (ASF) virus in Catalonia. The group will meet daily, and according to Ordeig, this week will be crucial in gathering more information and either confirming or ruling out certain findings. the suspicion that the outbreak could have been caused by a biological leak from a laboratorySpecifically, the aim is to obtain the sequencing of the twenty or so African swine fever (ASF) viruses "circulating in Europe" and to identify any "possible similarities" with the variant that has infected the wild boars in Collserola. According to the regional minister, all members of the committee coordinating this investigation to determine "whether there is a potential risk" of the virus escaping are "the best" in the field of swine fever and biosecurity at the national level. The committee will include two experts from the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA): the head of the high biocontainment unit, Xavier Abad, and the president of the animal experimentation ethics committee, Diana Ramírez. Furthermore, the logistics coordinator for the audit will be the director of the center itself, Josep Usall.

But four of the auditors are from centers outside Catalonia, including Laura Pérez, head of the animal and biosafety area at the Animal Health Research Center (CISA) in Madrid, who will be the scientific coordinator and president of the committee. Also collaborating are Gorka Aduriz, head of the Animal Health Area at Neiker - the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development; Massimo Palmarini, head of the Virology Department at Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam; and Gonzalo Pascual, technical director and head of the biosafety and biocontainment area at the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid.

According to the Catalan Government, all of them have decades of experience in fields essential to the development of high-impact scientific projects, ranging from environmental virology and biosafety to animal disease control, the management of biocontainment facilities, and the direction of leading research centers. All of these individuals stand out for having made "significant contributions" such as the development of international biosafety protocols, the management of NBS2 and NBS3 laboratories—where moderate- and high-risk infectious agents are handled, respectively—participation in European expert committees, and the generation of scientific knowledge through hundreds of publications.

"We are not ruling out bringing in new experts," admitted Ordeig, who again urged caution. "The leading experts in Europe, Spain, and Catalonia are mobilized," he insisted. The group's first line of action will be to determine which centers researching or studying the virus will be inspected and which biocontainment and biosafety protocols need to be reviewed, according to the Minister of Agriculture. The committee will evaluate the physical spaces, workflows, and types of live or dead animal samples that the selected centers use in their research, and Ordeig assured that the team will have the necessary autonomy, logistical support, and resources. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the variant of African swine fever (ASF) detected in the dead wild boars of Collserola... It is very similar to the one that circulated in Georgia in 2007This is the method typically used for experimental infections in research centers. IRTA-CReSA is the only center in Catalonia handling the virus, but other institutions are also pursuing research that may be related to it. For example, the affected area has university campuses with several research groups, such as the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Sources familiar with the matter say it will be necessary to review whether other centers are conducting preliminary investigations, inspections, or sample analyses.

The committee's findings will be shared with the Civil Guard "when and how they say," said Ordeig, who emphasized that they will help "in all open lines of investigation," including that of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). The minister defended the Catalan government's "instant" response to the European Union report and its continued collaboration at the national and European levels to generate and share all available information on the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Catalonia. "We don't judge or draw conclusions from evidence and reports that are inconclusive, but which we cannot rule out. We must let the scientists and technicians do their work," the minister insisted.

Outbreak "contained" at 13 positive cases

Regarding the outbreak, Ordeig assured that they are "on the right track" and confirmed that it remains "contained." "No positive cases have been found outside the 6 km radius [the area with the highest risk of contagion]," he stated. The number of positive cases remains at 13. Therefore, the regional minister reiterated that the 35,600 fattening pigs from the 55 farms included within the 20 km safety perimeter will be sent to the commercial market for consumption within Spain. This week, it will be ensured that all the animals can be taken to the slaughterhouse.

On the other hand, the regional minister thanked the hunters for intensifying the roundups "everywhere" to minimize the risk of contagion and reduce the presence of wild boar in overpopulated areas; a problem that The ARA has taken a snapshot this weekend"Regardless of what happens with the plague, a strong and intensive effort is needed throughout the year to reduce the wild boar population; this is an outstanding issue," he admitted. Ordeig again thanked the public for their cooperation and "involvement" in minimizing incidents related to mobility restrictions within the infected area. He further detailed that the 112 emergency service received "more than 1,500 calls" regarding sightings of live or dead wild boar. As he explained on Sunday, the regional minister confirmed the "good news" of the reopening of the pork export market to South Korea (valued at 113 million euros annually), which limited the ban on pork purchases in the affected area to a 20 km perimeter. "Catalonia maintains that regionalization based on health criteria should be based on this criterion," he reiterated.

In this regard, he addressed a message to China, which has decided to maintain regionalization throughout the area, and said that there are "high-level talks" with Japan (349 million in pork exports) and the Philippines (125 million a year), so that they follow the path of South Korea.