Located at one end of the Campus Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Animal Health Research Center (IRTA-CReSA)attracts all the attention today in the crisis caused by the appearance of African swine fever (APP) in Catalonia.
As a scientific equipment specializing in animal health research for more than 25 years, the IRTA-CReSA had become one of the fundamental players in the management of the infection episode detected so far in 13 wild boars. For example, by carrying out the preliminary analyzes to which Central Veterinary Laboratory of Algete (Madrid) to confirm the positive cases.
Precisely, the fact that these wild animals had been infected in a very close radius of this international reference and high security laboratory, gave rise to theories on social networks around an alleged viral leak which contradicted the official version according to which the infection occurred due to the ingestion, by a wild boar, of food contaminated by the ASF virus, as a sausage sandwich that a person had left half of them in a trash can (this disease is very contagious between different species of pigs, but is not transmitted to humans).
The change in history happened Friday afternoon. Summoned a few minutes in advance, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat, Oscar Ordeigrecognized that a second “complementary” line of investigation into the origin of the virus would be opened following the report of the Animal Health Research Center (CISA-INIA) of Valdeolmos (Madrid), reference laboratory of European Union. Molecular characterization by genome sequencing of APP showed that the strain of Bellaterra is different from those detected in recent years in other European countries. Instead, it is “very similar” to the strain called Georgia 2007 (by state and year of detection), currently used in surveys.
Both Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food like the Generalitat have avoided publicly reporting this center. In fact, the IRTA (Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology) is a public company of the Autonomous Administration itself, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. This institute, dedicated to the research and development of solutions for agri-food sectorcreated in January 2000 the IRTA-CReSAas a private foundation, in collaboration with UAB.
IRTA audit
The result of the analysis commissioned by the Ministry of Luis Planas leads to infer the hypothesis, “not excluded, but not confirmed either”, that the pathogen could have come from a laboratory. While the Civil Guard (Seprona) and the Mossos d’Esquadra They are already investigating on the basis of these recent data, the Catalan president, Salvador Illaannounced yesterday that it had ordered IRTA A audit internal which allows us to know if the epidemic of African swine fever It comes from their laboratories.
In his statements during his visit to the command center installed in the facilities of Torreferrussa of the Rural agents of the Generalitat, in Saint Perpetua of Mogodathe head of Government expressed “full confidence” in this scientific entity to examine in an “exhaustive” manner all the facilities and protocols of the centers that work with this pathogen within a radius of 20 kilometers around the area where the infected wild boars.
For years, the IRTA-CReSA works with live virus APPsince it is a laboratory with a category of biosecurityd level 3 (out of 4), but it is now also analyzed which collaborating university centers are investigating the remains of this pathogen in the so-called ground zero of the epidemic.
This research center animal health has maximum security protocolssuch as negative pressure containment, a ventilation system that keeps the air in a room at a lower pressure than outside to prevent the escape of viruses or dangerous chemicals.
Likewise, nothing is allowed to leave the Bellaterra facilities, not even animals, which are cremated at temperatures of 900 degrees or treated to provide decomposition and decontamination.
High security measures also include the requirement to change clothes, the use of a gown, double gloves and a mask and working in safety cabins. Professionals who work with live animals use a personal protective equipment. Likewise, researchers must disinfect and shower before leaving the laboratory and have Banned from going near animal farms for the next 72 hours.
He IRTA-CReSA It has six biosafety level 3 laboratories and has been conducting research on the HIV virus there for almost two decades. APP. So far, there is no evidence of a previous episode of pathogen leaks at its facilities.
The Generalitat, on the other hand, yesterday gave new data on the agreement reached with the sector for the slaughter of pigs coming from farms located within a radius of 20 kilometers from the focus of the ASF epidemic: a total of 55 farms of 91 municipalities with 80,000 heads.
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