BEIJING - China's agriculture ministry has announced that an epidemic of swine disease that killed more than 80,000 pigs in 2007 has emerged in parts of the country.

An outbreak of pathogenic blue-eared pig disease, also known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, has appeared in five areas of China, the ministry said in a statement posted on the central government website.

But the overall swine disease situation in China was stable, the ministry said Friday, compared with 2007, when blue-eared pig illness killed over 80,000 pigs, led to the culling of 235,000 others and set pork prices rocketing.

"So far this year, the overall swine disease situation in China remains stable, and in particular, the scope of highly-pathogenic blue-eared pig disease has significantly shrunk," the statement said.

Until October 20, just under 3,300 pigs had died from the disease and 7,724 had been culled.