MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - There is no need to screen Africans who already live in Russia for Ebola as border control is sufficient enough to keep the disease out of the country, Russian Health Ministry spokesman Oleg Salagai told RIA Novosti Thursday.
Commenting on the recent initiative by member of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament Roman Hudyakov to check all African residents in the country for Ebola, Salagai said such measures are excessive.
"We will consider carefully the initiatives of the member of parliament and will give a response in compliance with the law. It should be said that the likelihood to contract the Ebola virus is equal for the residents of West African states and other people coming from this region," Salagai told RIA Novosti.
According to the ministry spokesperson, health authorities already screen all passengers coming to Russia, not only those who arrive from West Africa.
"We should also remember that the incubation period of Ebola virus is 21 days, which means that people who arrived from the regions prior to [and 21 days before] the outbreak there, do not pose a hazard to health of other people," Salagai added.
Moreover, presidential human rights council member Anita Soboleva believes that the checks proposed by Hudyakov may infringe privacy laws.
There have been no Ebola cases reported in Russia.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.
West Africa is currently facing the worst Ebola outbreak in history, which so far has claimed the lives of 4,877 people among 9,936 infected, according to the latest World Health Organization estimates. The outbreak began in southern Guinea in February and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, with several Ebola cases also reported outside West Africa.
