Russian epidemiologist breaks silence on Ebola outbreak

No cases of Ebola being imported into Russia have been recorded so far, while the disease would have difficulty entering the country through natural transmission, epidemiologist and Russian Academy of Sciences academician Gennady Onishchenko told TASS.

“Fortunately, Ebola has not yet been brought to Russia,” Onishchenko said.

According to the epidemiologist, even an isolated imported case would not necessarily lead to an epidemic in Russia.

“It is very difficult to bring it in through natural transmission, and it is difficult for the fever to reach us unless, of course, someone becomes infected while there and then brings it here,” he said.

The current Ebola outbreak began on May 15 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Uganda declared the outbreak over on July 28, a move confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on August 25.

The current outbreak in the DRC is the 17th on record. The WHO assesses the risk of further spread within the DRC as very high, while the risk to neighbouring countries is considered high.

According to WHO data published on September 24, the DRC had recorded 7,733 confirmed Ebola cases, with 3,732 deaths. The case-fatality rate stands at 48.3%, with the main outbreak hotspot located in Ituri Province.

By Tamilla Hasanova