China reports new African swine fever case in Yunnan

BEIJING - China's agriculture ministry has said a new case of African swine fever had been confirmed in the country's southwestern province of Yunnan.

The outbreak occurred on a farm with a total of 300 pigs in the province's city of Lushui, with the viral disease infecting six pigs and killing two, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said, citing a China Animal Disease Control Center report.

A team was dispatched to the area immediately, and local authorities have initiated an emergency response to block, cull and disinfect affected pigs.

Transport of all pigs and related products out of or into the blockaded region is forbidden, the ministry said.

African swine fever is believed to only infect pigs, and no humans or other species have thus far been infected.

China reported its first case of the disease in August 2018 in the northeastern province of Liaoning. Later outbreaks were reported in several other provincial regions.