The Catalan government has called on the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and confirmed that, for now, swine fever has not reached any farms in the affected area.

BarcelonaThe Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, confirmed this Sunday that the African swine fever virus has not reached any of the farms surrounding the area where infected wild boars were found. "We confirm that we are talking about positive cases in wild boars and that it has not reached any farms," he said at a press conference in Lleida. So far, the positive and suspected cases detected are in wild boars, and they have been found in the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès, next to the Collserola Park. Tests carried out on the 39 farms within a six-kilometer radius of the area where the sick animals were found have ruled out the presence of the virus in any farmed pigs. However, Ordeig has called on livestock farmers to take extreme biosecurity precautions, paying special attention to farm fences and monitoring entry and exit points to prevent the virus from spreading. The regional minister also asked the entire population to respect the mobility restrictions in Collserola Park, warning that those who do not comply will face fines and that the police will have "zero tolerance" for non-compliance. "We are in a health crisis," he said. Ordeig argued that controlling cases of African swine fever "is not just a matter for livestock farmers and the food sector, it's a national issue; it must be done well and quickly, allocating all necessary resources."

This Sunday, the government intensified controls and surveillance at the entrances to Collserola to prevent people from entering and potentially spreading the African swine fever virus that affects wild boar. However, the restrictions did not prevent some people from visiting the area, most of whom claimed they were unaware of the ban. Besides Collserola, three other natural parks in the Barcelona area suspended several activities this Sunday due to the African swine fever outbreak. These included the guided tour of the Mura cave in Sant Llorenç Park; the mushroom walk in Marina Park; and the visit to Sant Miquel del Fai.

Wild boar captures are also taking place this Sunday in Collserola Park with more personnel than were working on Saturday. Ordeig explained that the captures are being carried out with cages, traps, and repellents, and not with the roundups usually conducted by hunters, because this could frighten the animals, and it is preferable to keep them within a defined perimeter. To reinforce the operation, the Generalitat (Catalan government) has already requested that the Military Emergency Unit (UME) send its hunting specialists. They are expected to join the efforts tomorrow, Monday, alongside the emergency teams and Rural Agents, who are already deployed.

Four cases pending confirmation

Regarding the infection figures, Ordeig noted that there are currently two officially confirmed cases and four pending confirmation. In these latter cases, preliminary tests conducted at the Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA) have come back positive, but official confirmation, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture, is still pending, as the regional minister clarified. Ordeig confirmed that more dead animals have been found and that all suspected cases of infection are located near Cerdanyola del Vallès, but declined to provide figures on the number of positive results from preliminary tests or the number of reports received from citizens who have found pigs; "No, we should be reporting the new cases every day. Besides, many are testing negative."