BEIJING - China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on Thursday that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in cattle in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

A village in Dagze County in Lhasa City reported on April 25 that 145 heads of cattle were showing suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA.

The National Foot-and-mouth Disease Reference Laboratory on Thursday confirmed the cases as type A foot-and-mouth disease.

Local authorities sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where 527 heads of cattle have been culled and safely disposed of, so as to prevent spreading the disease, the ministry said.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild species within the family Bovidae.