MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Over 300 doctors have been infected by the Ebola virus, with 144 losing their lives to the Ebola virus disease, Russia's public human wellbeing agency Rospotrebnadzor informed on its website on Tuesday.
"Cases of infection of medical staff are registered as well – 301 doctors have been infected, 144 of the cases were fatal," Rospotrebnadzor wrote in a statement.
According to the agency, Liberia, and especially its capital, Monrovia, has been hardest hit by the Ebola virus outbreak.
In a separate outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 66 cases of Ebola infection have been registered, 37 of which had a fatal outcome. These cases are not connected with the larger outbreak in West Africa, Rospotrebnadzor wrote.
A team of Russian epidemiologists, virologists and bacteriologists is still stationed in Guinea, the agency stated.
"A Rospotrebnadzor anti-epidemic team continues its work in the capital of Guinea, where it conducts laboratory diagnoses and participates in anti-epidemic measures alongside the Guinean Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene."
The Ebola death toll in West Africa has risen to more than 2,400 since the epidemic started in March, according to the latest WHO estimates.
Cases have been registered in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood, body fluids or tissue of infected animals or people. There is no officially approved medication for the disease, and experts claim prevention is the only cure. Several countries, including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are currently working on vaccines.
