Russia Sends 7,000 Ebola Test Kits to Africa

JAKARTA - More than 7,000 Russian-made test kits for diagnosing Ebola, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, have been distributed to African countries.

"In response to the threat of a new Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Rospotrebnadzor became one of the first institutions in the world to develop and regulate the production of test kits for PCR diagnosis of this virus variant within four days," said the Russian federal consumer rights and public welfare watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, Friday, June 19, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik.

"In total, more than 7,000 test kits have been distributed to African countries," he continued.

"Russian testing systems have also been handed over to North Korea and Turkmenistan," the statement added.

Experts from Russia and Uganda have conducted more than 1,500 studies of biological materials from Ebola patients and people suspected of being infected with Ebola, according to Rospotrebnadzor.