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Echo Xie

A Chinese vaccine against African swine fever will advance to the next phase of clinical and production trials after a series of positive tests, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday.
The progress means China is a step closer to prevention of a disease that has spread across the country, wiping out more than a third of its hog production.
The vaccine was developed by the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, part of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).
Clinical trials were carried out on 3,000 pigs from April to June at sites in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, the central province of Henan and the far western region of Xinjiang, CAAS chief Tang Junhua was quoted as saying on a statement on the ministry’s website.
The vaccine was given to piglets and sows at 10 times and 100 times the proposed immunisation dose.
Tang said the experimental vaccine generated at least 80 per cent immune protection, depending on the dose.


Bu Zhigao, head of the Harbin institute, said that during the 20-week observation phase, the vaccinated pigs showed no clinical abnormalities or signs of disease.
The ministry said the vaccine’s development was progressing smoothly.
“The vaccine ... is expected to enter the expanded clinical and production trial stage,” it said.
The ministry did not identify the vaccine by type but the Harbin institute said in a paper in March that it had developed a live attenuated vaccine that was safe and effective against African swine fever in laboratory tests.
The ministry said the academy would accelerate the vaccine’s development and expand clinical trials in Heilongjiang, aiming to complete trials soon.
Specialists said that while the announcement was a good sign it was too early to say when the vaccine could be available.
“If 3,000 animals have proven effective, that’s already a very decent trial, but there are different stages of clinical trials and one needs to wait until these trials are completed to make a decision as to whether or not this medicine is good for use,” said Nikolaus Osterrieder, a professor of veterinary epidemiology at City University of Hong Kong.
“Until all the experiments are done, it’s difficult to predict when the vaccine can reach the market.”
Osterrieder said many groups around the world were working on African swine fever vaccines but the virus’s complexity meant the goal was difficult to achieve.
He also said it was a challenge to create one vaccine that would offer protection against the diverse strains of the virus.


A successful swine fever vaccine would not only benefit pig farmers but also help stabilise pork prices.
In 2018, China accounted for half of the world’s pigs, and the epidemic has killed nearly one-quarter of the world’s total.
One year after the disease was discovered in China, the country’s herd had shrunk by 40 per cent, Rabobank said in a report in 2019.
By September last year, the disease had inflicted 1 trillion yuan (US$144 billion) in economic losses, Li Defa, dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology at China Agricultural University in Beijing, said in 2019. That total did not factor in losses in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.
But there are signs of recovery.
The ministry said on Monday that in July, China’s pig herd grew 13.1 per cent, the first year-on-year increase since April 2018, pointing to a strong boost to supply as more hogs are ready for slaughter in five to six months.


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African swine fever

Chinese vaccine for African swine fever advances to next trial phase

China has reported positive results for prospective African swine fever vaccine. Photo: Reuters

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Agriculture ministry reports positive results from animal tests in Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and Henan
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Agriculture ministry reports positive results from animal tests in Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and Henan.


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Chinese vaccine for African swine fever advances to next trial phase

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Agriculture ministry reports positive results from animal tests in Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and Henan It’s too early to say when a vaccine will become available, veterinary professor says

Agriculture ministry reports positive results from animal tests in Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and Henan

It’s too early to say when a vaccine will become available, veterinary professor says