Moscow, Guinea Discuss Using Russian Ebola Vaccine to Prevent Infections

Russian Epidemiological Watchdog Rospotrebnadzor began negotiating research and implementation of the recently produced vaccine against Ebola with Guinea on Tursday, the organization's press service said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the two countries' delegations met in Moscow to discuss engaging the Russian-Guinean Research Center of Epidemiology in prevention of infectious diseases by using the Russia-developed vaccine.

"An agreement on the Guinean side's cooperation in solving a number of administrative, organizational and technical issues for operation of Russian specialists in Guinea was reached," the press service said.

The most recent Ebola outbreak began in December 2013, spreading across Western Africa from Guinea to Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing over 11,000 people in these three countries. In late 2015, the WHO declared Guinea and Sierra Leone free of the deadly disease.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country had developed and registered a highly-effective vaccine against Ebola.

On Thursday, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said Moscow might start supplying Guinea with Russia-developed vaccine against the Ebola virus in March-April.

The same day, World Health Organization (WHO) declared West Africa Ebola-free. WHO stressed that despite the end of the outbreak, the disease could flare up in the region in future.