The memorandum issued by the Ministry of Agriculture confirming that it is not excluded that the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Barcelona came from a laboratory has drawn all attention to IRTa-CreSa, (Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology), center … Research attached to the state Ministry of Agriculture, which since 1985 has been providing advice and support to the Catalan agri-food sector, works with infected pigs and African swine fever and is located less than a kilometer from the site where infected wild boars were found last Friday.
Since it was announced OutbreakMany pointed out this coincidence, and initially dismissed it, pointing rather to the “sandwich theory”, which suggested that the origin of the outbreak was contaminated food brought from Europe that came into contact with wild boar in Barcelona’s Collserola Park.
Josep Usal y Rudi, Director, IRTA
Headquartered on the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), IRTA is a reference laboratory in Europe in the field of animal health that carries out basic and applied research and provides scientific and advisory support. It coordinates the work of a thousand professionals distributed among eighteen centers and farms throughout the Catalan territory and is “connected Research teams And innovation from around the world. The center belongs to the Catalan Cerca system of research centers and is, according to the center, “among the 20% of the best research institutions in the world, taking into account R&D and social impact.”
Biosafety IRTA
The IRTA has a biosafety level of 3 out of 4, meaning it can handle it Live pathogens Except for the hemorrhagic type that affects humans, such as Ebola. It has lines of research on African swine fever, and was actually an asset this week after the outbreak was announced in Barcelona. During the Hypra Covid vaccine trials, IRTA tested it on animals at its facilities.
Managed by Josep Usal y Rudi and scientific coordination by Jordi García Más, it has an annual budget of 71,024 million euros, 36% contributed by the General Government, and 34% by research projects from Public financing And 26% of projects and service contracts are with companies. Among its scientific objectives are promoting the digital transformation of the agri-food sector, improving water management for agricultural uses or ensuring animal health and welfare in a scenario of reducing antibiotic use.
In the same week, after speculation about the center, one of the veterinarians and researchers at the center, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Joaquin Sigales, confirmed that after the discovery of the virus, all protocols of the past four months had been reviewed without detecting any changes in biosafety. “There is no evidence that A Violation of security protocols He defended the escape of the swine fever virus from the center.”
For example, the IRTA building operates at negative pressure, meaning that inside it “the atmospheric pressure is lower than that in the building,” Sigalis noted. outside» To create a suppressive effect that «makes it impossible for there to be any escape to the outside». Likewise, given the level of security, to access its interior, you must remove all your clothes, enter through a double door and wear underwear and clogs. Upon departure, showering is mandatory. Except for humans, nothing comes out of it, especially animals or specimens that are burned or destroyed by chemical procedures.