Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced that scientists in Russia have developed a vaccine against the new Ebola virus strain, but it needs to be tested.
Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the minister said: “In general, the Russian Gamaleya Institute has already developed a vaccine to prevent Ebola, and it is available to us. But with the emergence of the new strain of the virus causing the disease, our colleagues modified the vaccine to suit this strain, and it is now available as a medical product.”
Murashko pointed out during his speech that the new vaccine still needs to undergo certain testing phases before it can be used.
The scientist and Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gennady Onishchenko, recently indicated that Russia is capable, if necessary, of developing a new vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. In an interview with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, he said: "There is an urgent need to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is currently spreading and causing the outbreak, just as there is for any other strain of the virus. The vaccines that were developed previously are no longer suitable. However, we can say today that developing a new vaccine is not scientifically difficult, as our scientists have the necessary experience to develop it based on their experiences with previous strains."
The Ebola virus is transmitted from wild animals to humans, and then spreads between people. The first symptoms of the disease include fever, muscle spasms, headache, and sore throat, followed by disturbances in kidney and liver function, and in some cases, internal and external bleeding begins.
