Chinese authorities have reported an outbreak of highly contagious foot and mouth disease in the south of the country and have destroyed more than 8,000 pigs.<br/><br/>Xinhua news agency quoted local veterinary officials in Guangdong province as saying that more than 8,380 pigs have been culled after the outbreak was reported in a district of the provincial capital Guangzhou last month. <br/><br/>The disease rarely affects humans, but is very contagious among cloven-hoofed animals, including sheep, goats and cattle. <br/>