A research institute in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province said its researchers have successfully isolated an African swine fever virus, the first in China. This paves the way for the research and development of vaccines against the virus, which is deadly to pigs.

The virus, named Pig/HLJ/18, was isolated from a pig sample from a farm in Jiamusi, which was hit by an ASF outbreak last year, and studies showed the virus is highly virulent and transmissible among domestic pigs, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, in Harbin, said in a statement over the weekend.

Pigs infected with the virus displayed symptoms such as fever within three to four days, and died within six to 10 days, according to the research. The research was published Friday on the international journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.

The findings highlighted the necessity of control and prevention for ASF in China, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the entire pig population in the world, according to the institute.

More than 110 ASF outbreaks have occurred in China since August, when the first ASF outbreak was reported in the nation, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.