SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A new outbreak of African swine fever has hit two farms in Jiangsu province in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, as the highly contagious disease continues to spread through the world’s largest hog herd.

The outbreak in Siyang county hit two farms with a total of 68,969 pigs, the Xinhua report said, citing a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. A total of 2,452 pigs have been infected and 1,369 killed.

The latest case comes shortly after an outbreak in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China affected a large farm with 73,000 pigs. [nB9N1WP02I]

China has reported more than 90 cases of the incurable disease since it was first detected in the country in August last year.

The disease can be deadly to pigs but does not harm humans.