No Ebola cases in Russia, all preventive measures taken

MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Russian specialists have prevented spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD) into Russia, as all anti-epidemic measures have been taken, the head of the federal public health control service (Rospotrebnadzor), Anna Popova, said on Friday. The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States died earlier this week. Eight EVD cases have been reported in the EU. There are many factors to make it possible to bring the disease into a country, Popova said. For the present, Russia has no direct flights to West Africa, and there is no intensive migration, but there are foreign students who have arrived from EVD-affected regions, and all measures are taken to monitor the situation in this connection, she added. An Ebola outbreak is impossible in Russia, she said. "Today we are absolutely sure and can say it: we have no conditions for spread of the virus inside the country, no natural or any other,” she said, adding: “The measures that are being taken are quite sufficient to prevent an outbreak.” An outbreak of EVD was reported first in Guinea in February 2014. Later, the virus spread to neighbouring Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. In late August, it reached Congo and Senegal. EVD cases have been reported in the United States and Europe. Almost 4,000 people have died, and about 8,000 have been infected as of today. The World Health Organization said fatalities accounted for up to 70 percent. See related news on itar-tass.com