IRTA denies that the works at its facilities could have affected the biosafety of the laboratories

BarcelonaThe Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA) denies that the construction work being carried out at its facilities could have affected the biosafety of its laboratories. This is the first statement issued by IRTA, which ARA has been able to access, since the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Friday that is investigating whether the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak originated in a laboratory

After speculation arose on Wednesday as to whether the work being carried out by IRTA to expand its facilities could be the cause of a possible escape of the African swine fever (ASF) virus, the center issued a statement defending itself, stating that "the project management team—specialized in biocontainment and with a long and proven track record—could not have affected biosafety, given that only external preparatory work has been carried out so far." Furthermore, the center insists that the work "is not being carried out in the biocontainment building or any of the operational facilities of IRTA-CReSA."

The work that has come under scrutiny is the work that has been underway for several weeks at IRTA-CReSA to create a new infrastructure to investigate diseases of animal origin that affect humans and will focus on the study of insect-based foodsThe expansion will be carried out by constructing a new building adjacent to the existing one, and the two blocks will be connected by two connection points, which are "planned exclusively for the final phase of the works," scheduled for 2028. The document also explains that since the start of construction, the only incident recorded was "a temporary interruption in the gas supply," which, they explain, had "the sole consequence of temporarily affecting the thermal comfort of the center's staff." Again, the document assures that this single incident "has in no way had any impact whatsoever on safety or research activity."

The virus strain

The main reason why the Ministry of Agriculture and The Catalan government has asked IRTA to conduct an audit to verify that the virus did not escape from the laboratory. The strain detected in the dead wild boars in Catalonia is not similar to the one circulating in European countries that have reported cases of African swine fever (ASF). However, it is very similar to the strain that circulated in Georgia in 2007 and matches the one commonly used in experimental infections at research centers to evaluate, for example, the effectiveness of vaccines currently being developed to prevent infection. In this regard, sources at IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology) explained to ARA (Aragonese News Agency) that "while the origin of the outbreak is being clarified," they cannot tell the media which strain they are working with in their laboratories. However, they insist that they are providing this information to the institutions and committees that request it and maintain that they are "the most interested" in clarifying the origin of the outbreak.