Spain Mobilizes Military to Combat African Swine Fever Outbreak

Spain is taking urgent action against African swine fever near Barcelona to protect its pork industry. The virus likely spread from contaminated food consumed by wild boar. Authorities have set up an exclusion zone and deployed military to manage the outbreak, posing economic risks to pork exports.

In a decisive move to protect its lucrative pork industry, Spain has deployed military forces to contain an outbreak of African swine fever near Barcelona. The deployment follows the discovery of two wild boars testing positive for the virus, which experts believe originated from contaminated food. The outbreak poses a significant economic threat to the nation, a leading exporter to the global market.

Authorities have established a 6-km exclusion zone around Bellaterra, implementing stringent measures to prevent the spread of the disease. This weekend, Catalan police, rural wardens, and a military emergency unit mobilized to manage the situation, utilizing drones for surveillance and control of potentially infected animals.

The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation, with EU veterinarians set to survey the affected area and draft recommendations. Meanwhile, Spain's agriculture officials have confirmed operational and sales restrictions on pork farms within a 20-km radius, as further investigations continue.

(With inputs from agencies.)