WHO Approves 4 Russian Labs to Test for Zika - Russian Health Watchdog

The World Health Organization (WHO) has included four Russian health laboratories on its list of global institutions approved to perform tests for the Zika virus, Russia’s public health and consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — All the four institutions are overseen by the Rospotrebnadzor and include the Vektor State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, the Central Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology, the Russian Antiplague Scientific Research Institute Microbe, and the Stavropol Antiplague Scientific Research Institute.

"The institutions included on the list have all the necessary resources and capacity to conduct tests for the Zika virus," Rospotrebnadzor said.

Earlier this week, Rospotrebnadzor said that Russia’s newly developed Zika testing system was "showing very good results."

The recent Zika outbreak originated in Brazil last year before spreading across Latin America. The Zika virus primarily affects monkeys and humans and is transmitted by daytime-active mosquitoes. It reportedly can also be transmitted through blood transfusions and sexual intercourse.

At present, there is no available vaccine against the Zika virus. The virus has been linked to instances of severe brain damage and underdevelopment in newborns, known as microcephaly.