Reporter’s Notebook: How the Tale of the ‘Magical Swine Fever Drug’ Took Off

I was blindsided by a piece of news about two weeks ago. On June 12, official local news website Hinews.cn posted an article titled “Hainan successfully develops injectable African swine fever vaccine.”

The article said: “At 3 p.m. on June 12, the Hainan provincial agricultural office issued the following announcement: With support from this office, Hainan Nanyao Research Group has identified compounds from a variety of tropical plants that could prevent the spread of the African swine fever virus, and created a polysaccharide injection that can prevent African swine fever virus infection. Initial clinical trials have shown a certain degree of preventative effect.”