France is set to ban the import of live pigs, pork-based byproducts and pig sperm from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan to ward off a virus that has killed millions of piglets in North America and Asia, a farm ministry official has confirmed.

Expected to be introduced today, the ban is aimed at protecting against the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, which has killed around 7 million young pigs since first identified in the U.S. almost a year ago and has sent retail pork prices skyrocketing.

The ban does not include pork meat for human consumption, according to Reuters, because the disease is not dangerous to humans.

"This disease worries us because the economic consequences would be dramatic if it hit our farms, in Europe and notably in France," Jean-Luc Angot, deputy director general and chief veterinary officer at the French farm ministry, said in report by Reuters. "When you see the numbers, there is a reason to be worried. There are few diseases that have such a high mortality rate at such a large scale."

With exports primarily originating from Canada, the ban would chiefly concern animal feed, Angot said.

European Union sources told Reuters there were no known cases of live pigs from the U.S. imported into the 28-member organization.

Animal feed is the suspected way the disease has been transmitted in the United States.

Porcine blood products like plasma are commonly used around the world in the diets of piglets after they being weaned -- a potential way the disease can spread, said Bernard Vallat, head of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

France is so far the only EU country to restrict imports of U.S. pigs.

The EU's top pork producer, Germany, indicated it did not plan any import ban before the EU's governing body considers a wider ban, a spokesman for the agriculture ministry said.

"Germany plans no unilateral measures and will await the result of this meeting," he said.

Denmark equally said it was awaiting answers from the U.S. to questions posed by the European Commission. "We want to give the Americans a chance to answer and then take it from there," a spokesman from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said.

Meanwhile, China, the world's No. 1 pork consumer, as well as Japan have imposed "temporary restrictions" on U.S. pig imports until their governments reach deals with the U.S. on testing animals, trade officials told Reuters.

"It is a suspension while waiting for a European decision," Angot said, adding that he was confident an EU-wide move could be adopted due to the risks if the virus were to enter the bloc.

The European Commission is due to discuss the virus situation with experts on Tuesday, May 6.