China reports new African swine fever outbreak in Shaanxi province

[February 27, 2019]  BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday said it had confirmed a new outbreak of African swine fever in Shaanxi province, as the highly contagious disease spreads through the world's largest hog herd.

The outbreak in the city of Yulin in the northwestern province killed 62 animals on a farm of 11,334 pigs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website.

China has already reported more than 100 cases of the incurable disease since it was first detected in the country in early August.

The disease is deadly for pigs but does not harm humans.

(Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton; editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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