Security guards are posted at the gate of Sheung Shui slaughterhouse in Hong Kong on Sunday as Hong Kong culled 4,100 pigs from Chinese mainland after African swine fever was detected in an animal at a slaughterhouse which is close to the border with China. Photo: AFP

Agricultural authorities in South China's Hainan Province confirmed that the China-developed African swine fever vaccine has shown certain preventive effects after clinical trials in an announcement on Wednesday.  

Researchers will conduct tests on more samples, evaluate the drug safety, possible [side] effects of virus mutation on injection, effective duration, stability, feasibility for production and raw material resources, the announcement cautioned, hinews.cn reported. 

Since the first outbreak of the epidemic in China in August 2018, the country has reported a total of 129 outbreaks and culled 1.02 million pigs as of April 22, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Guangdong Highsun Group Co, a property leasing and retail company, announced Wednesday a commitment of 100 million yuan ($14.45 million) to African swine fever vaccine production, which was confirmed by local authorities.

The sponsorship aims to support the production of the vaccine, the company's announcement said. In return, Highsun Group will be entitled to acquire a 30 percent stake in Hainan-based Jinzhu Agricultural Development Co before June 30, 2020. The contract amount involves 9 million yuan in total investment.

Led by Xu Qitai, Jinzhu Agricultural Development Co claims to have successfully developed an injection that can effectively prevent African swine fever with a minimum 92 percent success rate, and also owns patent rights. 

Xu, 64, former head of Pharmaceutical College of Henan University, is one of the patent holders of the vaccine injection. 

The injection is not listed in the State Intellectual Property Office of China's patent search and analysis system, according to news portal thepaper.cn on Tuesday.

First diagnosed in Kenya in 1921 and now spreading to many countries, African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that infects only pigs. 

Global Times