Hong Kong will cull 6,000 pigs after its first ever case of African swine fever was found in an animal at a slaughterhouse close to the border with mainland China.

Sophia Chan, Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, said the incurable virus was found in a pig imported from a farm in Guangdong province on the mainland where an outbreak has devastated herds.

Pork is China’s staple meat and its price and availability is considered a matter of national concern. Shortfalls in supply have increased demand for pork from producers in the US, with whom China is locked in a tariff battle.

Chan said the culling was necessary so that thorough cleansing and disinfection could be conducted. Operations at the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse would be suspended until the disinfection work was completed, she said. “We will enhance the surveillance and also testing of pigs, and currently we collect samples from pigs with ASF symptoms for testing, and in the future we will step up the sampling of other pigs for testing.”

The territory’s fresh pork supply would be reduced in the near future but there would still be a limited supply of live pigs available from another slaughterhouse, she said.

Unlike swine flu, African swine fever cannot be transmitted to humans and Chan said well-cooked pork remained safe for consumption.

Concerns about the spread of African swine fever to the US recently led organisers to cancel the World Pork Expo scheduled for June in the state of Iowa. Denmark has begun erecting a 70km fence along the German border to keep out wild boars in an attempt to prevent the spread of the fever, which could jeopardise the country’s valuable pork industry. Russia has been hit hard and some have speculated the Chinese outbreak may have originated from there.