Students arriving from countries with Ebola risk are placed under medical observation
MOSCOW. Sept 24 (Interfax) - The 335 students who have arrived from countries at risk for Ebola now remain under medical observation to prevent the virus from spreading, Anna Popova, chief state sanitary inspector of Russia, told a press conference in the Interfax central office.
Popova said a total of 7,700 students from Africa are studying in Russia, and some 1,000 of them are from countries at risk for the virus.
"All in all, 539 students have now arrived from the countries of West Africa, including 27 from Guinea, one from Sierra Leone, 437 from Nigeria, and 74 from Congo. A total of 335 people now remain under medical observation and the rest are no longer under medical observation because the 21-days incubation period has passed and they remained healthy," Popova said.
No Ebola virus was found in the ten people who underwent detailed testing for the virus, she said. "We didn't have any other suspicions, Popova said.
"The migration flows are very intensive, and they increase every year. For this reason, diseases can spread and be imported. It's a different issue how prepared we are to contain them," she said.
Popova said medical observation in Russia is conducted at all stages, from the moment people board planes to the moment they leave airports, which are equipped with thermal imaging units that scan people's temperature.
"Additionally, our employees examine the planes that cause any doubt, boarding them and using manual thermal imaging units," Popova said.
Popova said there is currently a ready effective vaccine against the Ebola virus.
"Russian scientists have been working on such a vaccine for more than ten years," Popova said.