Cattle in Gansu's Huining county began showing symptoms on July 31 and were diagnosed with foot-and-mouth disease last Friday, the Xinhua news agency said.

A total of 607 sheep, pigs and cattle, including the sick animals, were culled following the outbreak, while local agriculture officials quarantined and disinfected the farms and surrounding area, it said.

Foot-and-mouth is a severe and highly contagious viral disease affecting cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock.

It is not usually fatal but causes losses in the production of meat and milk.