Reuters reports that the new discoveries bring the total number of confirmed African swine fever cases to 65 since the first one was detected on 10 September. All of the infections have been in wild animals and not farm pigs have been affected.

Germany's Friedrich-Loeffler scientific institute had confirmed the latest animals had African swine fever, the ministry said. All were found in the area around the first discoveries.

China and a number of other pork buyers banned imports of German pork in September after the first case was confirmed, causing Chinese pork prices to surge.

The disease is not dangerous to humans but it is fatal to pigs and a massive outbreak in China, the world's biggest pork producer, and elsewhere in Asia led to massive changes in global pork trade flows.

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