Spanish police carried out a search on Thursday morning at the IRTA-CReSA state-funded laboratory near Barcelona, as part of an investigation into the origin of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the same area.
The search at the laboratory located in Bellaterra (Vallès Occidental) involved Spain’s Guardia Civil and Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra. It was ordered by an investigating court in Cerdanyola del Vallès. The case is at a preliminary stage and subject to judicial secrecy.
The IRTA-CReSA laboratory is based on the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), around 20km from Barcelona. Its headquarters are less than a kilometre from where the first infected wild boars were found dead.
The search follows concerns raised earlier this month that the outbreak detected in wild boars could have been caused by a laboratory leak. Genome sequencing showed the strain is similar to that used in research and vaccine development and different from other cases in Europe. ALSO READ: Spanish authorities to investigate five laboratories in search for origin of African swine fever outbreak.
On Tuesday, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture confirmed 10 additional wild boar deaths from ASF within the perimeter of the first outbreak.
The latest cases bring the total number of infected wild animals to 26 since the outbreak began, the ministry said in a statement.
More than 200 animal carcasses found in the affected area – in natural settings and on roads and railway lines – have returned negative results for the virus.
ASF is a contagious viral disease that affects pigs and wild boar but poses no risk to human health. So far, authorities have successfully prevented the virus from reaching pig farms.
Spain is the European Union’s largest pork producer, accounting for about a quarter of the bloc’s output, and the outbreak has threatened exports, prompting authorities to impose movement restrictions and step up efforts to reassure trading partners.
The current ASF outbreak, Spain’s first since 1994, has been detected only in wild animals in the Collserola hills outside Barcelona, with no cases reported on farms.
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🔴Los Mossos y la Guardia Civil registran por mandato judicial las dependencias de IRTA-CReSA, un laboratorio que se encuentra cerca de donde aparecieron los primeros casos de peste porcina africana en Cataluña https://t.co/fINk5b0v5x#LaHora18D pic.twitter.com/0hhN8MiSd6
— La Hora de La 1 (@LaHoraTVE) December 18, 2025
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