New African swine fever outbreak in northern China, over 5K hogs under scrutiny

China has confirmed a new outbreak of African swine fever in the northern province of Hebei, the government said on Sunday, as the highly contagious disease spreads through the world's largest hog herd. The outbreak is on a farm in the Xushui district of Baoding city which has 5,600 hogs, some of which died because of the swine fever, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website, without giving a death toll.

The farm has been quarantined and the herd slaughtered, it added. China has reported more than 100 cases of the disease in 27 provinces and regions since last August. The disease is deadly for pigs but does not harm humans.