Russia to Use Zika Testing System at 2016 Summer Olympics - Watchdog

The Russian-developed method of diagnosing the Zika virus has not been registered so far, but medics will use the procedure at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to monitor Russian sportspeople's health, a representative of Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In late January, Rospotrebnadzor’s Central Research Institute of Epidemiology said its scientists were planning to obtain a license for the first practical method of rapid Zika fever diagnosis in March.

"The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare has not registered the testing system so far, but when our athletes go to the Olympics it is highly likely we will take it with us," Viktor Maleev, deputy director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, told RIA Novosti.

The project's relevance has not decreased as the dangerous virus continues to spread, he added.

The current Zika outbreak originated in Brazil in the spring of 2015 before spreading across Latin America and gaining widespread media attention as confirmations of the first cases emerged in Europe and the United States in recent months.

At present, there is no available vaccine against the Zika virus. The virus is suspected of having strong links to instances of severe brain damage in newborns, known as microcephaly.