MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) – Russia has begun testing an Ebola virus vaccine on primates, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said Monday.
“All of the necessary testing is continuing and several Russian vaccines are being developed, and some of those are being tested on primates,” Skvortsova said.
Ebola's present outbreak started in Guinea, subsequently spreading to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. However, the latter two countries have recently been announced free of the virus.
According to the estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), over 5,100 from the over 14,400 confirmed, likely and suspected cases have been lethal.
Earlier in November, the organization said vaccines against the deadly virus were being extensively tested, with application to possibly follow as early as in January 2015.
Russia is participating in the international efforts to fight Ebola in a number of ways, including sending medical experts and donating funds and humanitarian aid, consisting of field hospitals and medical supplies to the virus-ridden countries of West Africa. In October, Russian scientists registered reagents that can detect the virus.
