BEIJING -- China confirmed a case of boars contracting African swine fever in the northwestern Shaanxi province on Wednesday.

Of the nine sampled dead boars, three from Foping county of the city of Hanzhong tested positive for the deadly virus, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said, citing reports from the China Animal Disease Control Center.

Local authorities have initiated an emergency response and carried out treatment of the infected boars, taken precautions to protect homebred pigs against exposure to the wild, and completed the sterilization of local pig farms.

African swine fever is believed to infect only pigs, and no humans or other species have thus far been infected.

China reported its first case of the disease in August 2018 in the northeastern province of Liaoning.