State assessors see Catalonia's measures to control swine fever as "insufficient".

BarcelonaThe scientific committee advising the Spanish government on the management of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak warns that the control measures taken so far are insufficient, and deems it necessary for all autonomous communities to prepare for a possible expansion of the virus. Specifically, in its monitoring report for this June, the State's advisors assess that the preventive actions – which are the responsibility of the Generalitat – have not been taken "with the desired intensity". Among the arguments is that an average of 363 wild boars have been hunted per week, when the estimated objective was 800 per week.

Experts value "the great effort" made by the administrations, "greatly conditioned by the difficulties and singularities of the outbreak", and acknowledge that an "important" number of wild boars have been captured. However, the committee warns that they are "far from the objective" and see the need to strengthen actions. This means creating more barriers and intensifying epidemiological surveillance, reducing the wild boar population, and eliminating carcasses. The scientific committee's report also advises to continue limiting the activity and mobility of both people and farm pigs within the affected area.

Regarding the precautions that all autonomous communities should take in the face of a possible expansion of the outbreak, the scientific committee requests the initiation of species management tasks with three priority areas: monitoring wild boars, strengthening hunting, and acting on their habitat. In the field of animal health, experts urge to reinforce the biosecurity of pig farms and enhance the early detection of the disease in dead wild boars that show clinical signs compatible with the infection.

An "overly optimistic" objective

access restrictions to natural environments remain in place in nineteen municipalitiesThe scientific committee's main proposal is to create a "white zone" around the affected area, i.e., an area without wild boar or with a very low density. To achieve this, they recommend setting weekly wild boar extraction targets differentiated by zones and continuously monitoring the animals removed to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions.

The committee also recommends strengthening the systematic search for animal carcasses. In fact, this is considered one of the most important tools for controlling African swine fever. Thus, they call for extending the search to peripheral areas with a higher risk of virus spread and not limiting it to the areas closest to where cases have been found. This is compatible with also prioritizing river corridors and areas with habitats favorable to the species, they emphasize in the report. In this regard, the group of experts proposes setting weekly prospecting targets per municipality, which should be measured in terms of inspected area, kilometers traveled, or carcasses expected to be found if the virus continues to circulate.

Maintain restrictions in Collserola

The report from the scientific committee also advises maintaining restrictions on both people and farm pigs within the affected area. In fact, in nineteen municipalities, access restrictions to natural environments remain in place, and the government has already announced that it will maintain the measures, which affect the Collserola Natural Park, at least until the end of the summer.

In the same way, experts also call for maintaining and reinforcing biosecurity measures in all pig farms, especially in farms located within restricted areas, and to continue taking extreme precautions when handling and destroying materials and animal carcasses that may be contaminated.