ULAN BATOR, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has culled a total of 2,394 pigs to contain the spread of African swine plague, a senior official said Tuesday.

"A total of 2,394 pigs have been culled across the country since the first case of the African swine fever was reported in mid-January in Sergelen soum of central Tuv Province," Dorjnyam Tumendemberel, head of the General Department of Veterinary Services, told daily newspaper Unuudur.

"The outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease is now generally under control in the country," said Tumendemberel.

The African pig plague is a highly contagious viral disease that only infects pigs. No humans or other species have thus far been infected.

According to official data, there were more than 31,000 pigs in Mongolia as of the end of 2018, of which around 17,000 were in Ulan Bator.