China has made another breakthrough in the development of a African swine fever vaccine, according to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) on Tuesday. 

Researchers from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute (HVRI) under the CAAS have screened out a live attenuated vaccine strain with double gene deletion for African swine fever, which has been evaluated for safety and efficacy in laboratory, said Bu Zhigao, director of the HVRI, at the meeting on the prevention of African swine fever and the restoration of hog production after the outbreak.

The application for biosafety assessment of the vaccine has been submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs before the clinical trial stage.

Researchers at the meeting also introduced new technologies and products that can quickly detect and diagnose African swine fever, and exchanged their experiences in raising pigs after an outbreak.

Previously, Chinese researchers isolated the country's first African swine fever virus, and created two vaccine strain candidates.