Russia could have Ebola vaccine by end of summer

Russia is expecting to have the results of testing the Ebola vaccine on monkeys by the end of this summer, deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said.

"Representative testing on monkeys is currently underway, and if everything goes well, we will have the vaccine ready," Golodets said according to Sputnik News Agency on Monday.

"We are hoping to have the result by the end of summer," she added.

In March, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said that four Russian-made vaccines are being tested on Ebola-infected monkeys.

Russia, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, are working to develop a vaccine to combat the deadly virus.

The current Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013, spreading later to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal and Mali.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the total number of infected with Ebola in West Africa reached 26,079 people. More than 10,800 of the infection cases were lethal.
Source: MENA