China identified two new outbreaks of African swine fever in eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu, China's Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs said Sept. 3, according to the Xinhua news service. These mark the country's seventh and eighth cases overall since the disease first appeared in the country.

According to the ministry, citing a report from the China Animal Disease Control Center, in the city of Xuancheng, Anhui province, 152 of the 308 pigs on a farm in the Xuanzhou district were confirmed to be infected and 83 died, Xinhua said. This is the third case in Anhui.

In a separate statement, the ministry said the disease was discovered on a farm in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, where 12 of the 97 pigs were confirmed to be infected and nine died, Xinhua reported.

The ministry said local authorities in both cases have initiated an emergency response mechanism to block, cull and disinfect the affected pigs.

The outbreaks are "now under effective control," the ministry said.

Concerning the Wuxi case, Reuters said it’s not clear if the disease is spreading more quickly through the China’s large swine herd or if farmers are reporting outbreaks to authorities after a publicity blitz by the ministry.

During the weekend, the government said it would shut down live hog markets in the affected provinces and imposed a ban on transporting pigs and pork products from the provinces -- the most drastic measure taken so far, and one set to have major repercussions across the supply chain.

African swine fever is a highly contagious, viral disease that infects pigs. It does not affect humans or other animal species.

The virus is transmitted by ticks and direct contact between animals and can also travel via contaminated food, animal feed and people moving from one place to another.