MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russia possesses all the necessary diagnostic techniques to immediately recognize the Ebola virus that has been on the rampage in West African countries since January, the country’s consumer rights watchdog said Friday.
“Russia has all necessary methods of laboratory diagnostics to detect the deadly Ebola virus in blood samples,” Anna Sergeeva, a spokeswoman for Rospotrebnadzor told RIA Novosti Friday.
She said that there is currently no known cure or vaccine for Ebola.
“That is why it is important to follow all disease prevention recommendations. All the vital information and guidelines have been submitted to Rospotrebnadzor departments and the Russian Federal Tourism Agency,” she added.
According to recent estimates, the number of Ebola cases in Guinea has surged to 157 since January, with 101 confirmed deaths.
The capital Conakry alone has seen 20 Ebola-linked deaths, with the southern Guinean town of Gueckedou now the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, according to the WHO. Liberia has also recorded 21 cases and 10 Ebola-linked deaths and several cases have been reported in Mali, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Vladimir Nikiforov, the chief infection disease specialist of the Russian Federal Medical and Biological Agency, told RIA Novosti on Thursday that a mass outbreak of this disease is not possible in Russia even if infected tourists return carrying the virus.
“We should not apply the West African figures to Russia. I’m not trying to downplay concerns so much as I’m trying not to exaggerate. The virus poses a real threat to people who are there [in West Africa]. But it will not be possible to trigger an Ebola outbreak in Moscow, as we have no infection sources,” Nikiforov said.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is one of the deadliest viruses known to mankind. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. Transmission via contaminated medical equipment or other objects is also possible.
