Spain has raised the African swine fever case count from two to nine in a sign its first outbreak of the disease in more than three decades is worsening, threatening shipments from one of the world’s top pork exporters.
The new cases emerged in the same area of Barcelona where two wild boar were found dead last week, the Spanish government said in a statement. Health authorities have established a sanitary cordon and special checks within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius to prevent the spread of the virus, it said.
The virus is not transmissible to humans but is a threat to the European Union’s largest pig herd and a major producer globally. Spain exported $8.4 billion worth of pork in 2023, more than any other country, according to data from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
Those exports are now at risk as markets such as Mexico and Japan suspend purchases due to the outbreak. Spain ships its pork to more than 100 countries under roughly 400 licenses. About 120 of those have been pulled.
Exports within the EU and to China would continue except from the affected area at Barcelona province, Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said at a press conference on Tuesday. Teams of veterinarians and military personnel have been deployed to the area, the government said.
There is “a strong likelihood” that the source of the outbreak lies “in some type of human food product that may have come from a country where swine fever was present and that ended up near a transportation route,” Planas said.
African swine fever is currently present in 13 other European Union countries, after entering the bloc in 2014. Under EU rules, member states must adopt specific procedures aimed at controlling and eradicating the disease in affected areas.
France remains free of the virus, but “has been preparing for the possible emergence of African swine fever on its territory for several years and regularly exchanges information with other member states,” according to a government statement.
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