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EU Sets 91-Municipality Perimeter as Barcelona ASF Outbreak Reaches 13 Wild Boar

Sequencing that differs from current EU strains has prompted an inquiry into a possible confinement‑lab origin.

Overview

  • Authorities have confirmed 13 ASF‑positive wild boar within the six‑kilometre infection zone around Cerdanyola del Vallès, with no infections detected at the 39 nearby pig farms.
  • The European Commission’s emergency zoning covers 91 Catalan municipalities with an export ban from those areas through February 28, 2026.
  • Trade responses vary by market, with the United Kingdom mirroring the EU perimeter, China extending limits to the whole province of Barcelona, and the Philippines imposing a full suspension.
  • Containment teams have expanded to roughly 1,000 personnel, access to forests and rural areas is restricted beyond marked paths in the affected municipalities through December 14, and surveillance spans a 20‑kilometre radius.
  • Spain’s agriculture ministry is examining human‑mediated and laboratory‑related origin hypotheses after identifying a genetic group not seen in current EU cases, as regional governments tighten wild‑boar controls and Catalonia opens €10 million in aid with a €50 million credit line.