Spain has set off health alarms after detecting two cases of African swine fever (ASF) in Catalonia, a disease that has not appeared in the country for more than three decades.
The Generalitat confirmed that two wild boars found dead in Cerdanyola del Vallès tested positive for the virus, which has activated an emergency protocol to prevent its spread, especially at a time when the sector is already dealing with the spread of avian influenza.
How the positive cases of African swine fever were identified
According to the Generalitat, the animals were located on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week by the Agents Rurals. After the pertinent tests, it was confirmed that both were infected with the African swine fever virus, which led to the activation of the Contingency Plan foreseen for this type of emergencies.
Since then, the teams of the Department of Agriculture and the Agents Rurals have deployed an extensive operation to locate other possible dead animals, remove traps and transfer disinfection material to the logistics center of Torreferrussa.
The objective is to prevent the virus from spreading outside the area where the wild boars were found: for this purpose, a surveillance area of about 20 kilometers has been delimited, covering part of Collserola and municipalities such as Sabadell, Cerdanyola, Ripollet, Sant Cugat, Rubí, Mollet, Montcada, La Llagosta, Santa Perpètua, Terrassa, as well as some neighborhoods of Barcelona.
In addition, as an immediate measure, Catalonia has automatically suspended all pork exports to non-EU countries, a sector that in 2024 accounted for almost one-fifth of Catalan food and beverage exports.
What is African swine fever and how is it transmitted?
African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that affects both domestic pigs and wild boar, but does not pose a risk to humans, as the Catalan authorities have remarked.
The virus can be spread by direct contact between infected animals, through body fluids, carcasses or contaminated materials. Due to its environmental resistance, it can remain active for long periods in meat, meat products or surfaces such as vehicles, tools or clothing.
Most frequent symptoms and mortality of the virus
ASF is characterized by a very aggressive clinical picture. Infected animals usually manifest:
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High fever
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Sudden loss of appetite and weight loss
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Hemorrhages in the skin or internal organs
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Weakness and difficulty moving
In most cases, the evolution is very rapid: death can occur between two and ten days after infection, with mortality rates that can reach 100%. For this reason, the disease is included in the list of notifiable diseases of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
A disease that is advancing in Europe
Although Spain had been free of cases since 1994, African swine fever has regained ground in Europe. The last confirmed outbreaks were reported in early 2024 in Montenegro and Albania; in 2023 it was also detected in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.
The Spanish authorities, for their part, are confident that early detection and the sanitary cordon established in Catalonia will allow the situation to be controlled before it affects the domestic pig herd, a strategic sector for the country.
