MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) – The Federal Service on Surveillance in Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor), after a series of tests, has registered reagents that can detect the Ebola virus, the service said on its website Friday.
"On October 16, 2014, Roszdravnadzor, following a series of tests and quality, effectiveness and safety assessment, has registered a 'Set of reagents for the detection of the Ebola virus RNA…,'" the organization announced.
"The reagents will be used to analyze samples taken from people suspected of being infected with the Ebola virus, irrespective of the form and first symptoms of the disease," the statement said.
The AmpliSens® EBOV Zaire-FL reagents have been developed to detect the Ebola virus in human blood, saliva, urine and other biomaterial.
The current Ebola outbreak started in February 2014 in Guinea and gradually spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. A number of Ebola cases have also been registered outside of West Africa. There is currently no officially approved treatment for the disease, however, Russia, alongside the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and Canada, is currently working on the medicine.
According to the World Health Organization, the current outbreak has claimed the lives of almost 4,500 people, with a total number of some 9,000 Ebola cases confirmed.
