BEIJING?Chinese authorities have reported an outbreak of highly contagious foot and mouth disease in the south of the country and have destroyed more than 8,000 pigs, state media reported Tuesday.
Xinhua news agency quoted local veterinary officials in Guangdong province as saying a total of 8,382 pigs had been culled after the outbreak was reported in a district of the provincial capital Guangzhou last month.
The disease only rarely affects humans, but is very contagious among cloven-hoofed animals, including sheep, goats and cattle.
