African swine flu hits Hebei

African swine flu has been found in Xushui district of Baoding, North China's Hebei province, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on Sunday.

To date, the top 10 swine producing provinces, including Southwest China's Sichuan, Central China's Henan and Shandong in East China, have reported outbreaks, of which Hebei is the most recent, according to industry analysts.

There are now 5,600 pigs affected at a pig farm in Baoding's Xushui district. The deaths of the infected pigs have been confirmed.

Local authorities said quarantine and sterilization measures to control the outbreak and spread of the virus have been taken and it has been contained.

China reported its first-ever African swine fever outbreak on Aug 1 in the northeastern city of Shenyang, Liaoning province, where 47 pigs died after becoming infected.

Huang Chen contributed to this story