China's agriculture ministry on Sunday said a new case of African swine fever had been confirmed in the country's northwestern province of Gansu.

The outbreak occurred on a farm with 109 pigs in the city of Qingyang, with the viral disease infecting 44 of the pigs and killing nine, 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 blockade region is forbidden, the ministry said.

African swine fever is believed to infect only 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.