BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have isolated an African swine fever virus, according to China Daily on Tuesday.

The research progress could contribute to more knowledge of the organism, and may also lead to new methods for prevention and control, the paper said.

The virus, called Pig/HLJ/18, was isolated from a sample taken from an animal at a farm hit by an African swine fever outbreak last year in Jiamusi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Studies showed that the virus is virulent and transmissible among domestic pigs, the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute said in a statement.

During tests, pigs injected with the virus displayed symptoms such as fever within three or four days, and all died within six to 10 days. Pigs that were not directly injected but lived with the other pigs also got the disease and died, a leading author of the research Zhao Dongming told the newspaper.

The virus does not affect humans, said the newspaper.

The findings highlighted the necessity in the control and prevention of African swine fever in China, which has more than half the world's pig population, Zhao said.

Currently, diagnoses in China have been made based on detection of a viral gene, so isolation of the virus will help in understanding and controlling the disease, he said. "More viruses need to be isolated and analyzed to fully understand the spread of the disease and to develop an effective control strategy."