Reacción a "Initial genetic analyses of African swine fever viruses in Catalonia suggest that a laboratory leak is ‘highly unlikely’"

These studies would show that the outbreak found in wild boars does not come from any of the viruses handled at CReSA at the time when the infectious outbreak of African swine fever was detected and, therefore, can be completely ruled out.

The fact that the virus found in wild boars has not been described until now is not surprising, and we should not think that a new virus has emerged, but simply that there are many strains of African swine fever circulating around the world that are not included in the databases consulted because they have not actually been incorporated into those databases.

There are many strains circulating in Europe and Asia, and traces of these strains in food may have reached the place where these infected wild boars are found, because the world is global, people move around a lot and can transport contaminated food. For example, in Ukraine, the different viral strains that are currently evolving there freely are not being incorporated into the database. It is not so unusual to think that it may be a strain that is circulating but has not been included in the databases.

It should also be borne in mind that one of the things that the African swine fever virus tends to do is to evolve in wildlife to adapt to the host it is infecting at the time — in this case wild boars — and not to kill the animal. These are strains that attenuate their original virulence so that infected animals do not die. I am not at all surprised that the combination of these scenarios may have caused this outbreak. Unfortunately, none of the viruses we know of lately are immutable pathogens, but rather adapt their genetic material to the conditions that best suit them.

The result is good news for many reasons. A highly secure and trusted facility has been called into question, and, incidentally, so have the professionals. The Generalitat and the European Commission have all said that there was no breach in the security protocols that would justify an escape after inspecting the facility.