China has suspended transportation of live hogs from infected provinces to prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF) and will shut all live hog markets in the infected provinces, its agriculture ministry said Aug. 31, according to Reuters.

China has so far reported five ASF cases in five different provinces in a month. It is uncertain how the ASF virus is being transmitted across the country or how the virus arrived in China.

Chinese authorities will further investigate the epidemic, the ministry said in a statement on its website, according to the Reuters report.

In other ASF developments, media outlets report that Taiwan is cracking down on meat smuggling in an effort to prevent ASF from entering the island nation, and Vietnam is also instituting preventative measures to protect its swine herd from the virus.

In Europe, Bulgaria has reported its first case of ASF as the virus continues to be active in Eastern and Central Europe and the Caucasus region. Nearby Romania has been one of the hardest hit in the region, especially among commercial farms, according to news reports.