Some 630,000 hogs have been culled following an outbreak of African Swine Fever in China that was first reported in Liaoning province in early August, according to the UN FAO.

ASF was also reported in two districts in Xi’am city on Dec 3. Two days later, some 245 pigs were found to be infected in Huay district and 245 in Chang’an district.

Quarantines are lifted if there is no further ASF detection for six weeks after culling of pigs within an affected zone. So far, quarantines have been lifted in 35 epidemic zones in Liaoning province and other cities.

Effective Dec 1, the Chinese authorities have begun enforcing new hog transport rules. These include registrations, inspections, and GPS recorders for vehicles transporting live pigs. The number of pigs per vehicle is to be fewer than 15 with obligatory disinfection before and after transport, as well as record keeping.