New cases of African swine fever have been reported among wild boars in the German state of Brandenburg.

The German Agriculture Ministry (FLI) announced Friday that there were six cases in the east German state, in the Neuzelle municipality, which is near the border with Poland. There have now been 13 total cases in the state since the first case was reported in the country eight days ago.

The FLI said the new cases means "it can be assumed that the epidemic is at an early stage" according to a statement.

The FLI has sent out teams looking for wild boar that are dead or sick and have not been shot by hunters. One boar was found in this manner and the agency said it expected to locate more as the operations continue. 

The FLI finished by stating that the search for fall game would be used to locate exactly which areas had the greater cluster of infections.

Berlin broadcaster RBB said the suspected hub of the outbreak near Neuzelle had been enlarged to 150 square kilometers (93 square miles).

The illness can be deadly in wild boars and domestic pigs, with no effective treatments, but is not harmful to humans.

Economic backlash

Cases of the illness means that German pork can no longer be certified to be exported to non-EU nations. China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Argentina have already stated that they will suspend German pork imports. Sales can still continue in EU nations, but only with produce from regions other than Brandenburg.

The German Farmers' Association said that if the outbreak continued, it would cost the German economy billions of euros.

Germany is Europe's largest producer of pork, slaughtering more than 55 million pigs in 2019.

kbd/msh (AFP, dpa)