MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. The US system to mitigate biological risks that has been successfully tested in Ukraine and Georgia, actively works in Africa now, Deputy Chief of the Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Alexey Rtishchev said.

"After analyzing the acquired documents, we understood the structure of the system created by the US Administration to mitigate biological risks on the territory of other countries. This system has been successfully tested in Ukraine and Georgia and now it actively works on the African continent," he told a briefing.

The efforts within the framework of this system are directed at acquiring pathogens in endemic areas and natural foci, controlling and managing the biological situation for their own benefit, Rtishchev stressed, adding that one of the tasks is analyzing the epidemic situations along the borders of geopolitical rivals in the presumed deployment areas of military contingents.

Washington deploys the system of biological controls in Africa according to a plan that was used before, he noted. "I would like to remind you that the deployment of the American system of biological controls goes according to a plan that was used before. Concerns are primarily raised about regular outbreaks of, for example, anthrax and tularemia in one region, and foot-and-mouth disease and plague in the another," Rtishchev said.

As a rule, these concerns are pointed out during meetings between US ambassadors and representatives of the countries' health ministries, the official said. "American counterparts note that such outbreaks undermine the development of the region's economic potential. They question the training level of leadership and specialists, when it comes to neutralizing biological threats, and state the need to improve their qualifications. Against this background, it is proposed to establish a center for disease diagnostics and testing of medical products within one or two years, which will study dangerous pathogens and mechanisms of their mutations, and develop and test modern vaccines," he said.

It is also planned to involve local specialists in the research projects of the US DoD Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), according to Rtishchev. "It is proposed that the US is to prepare a three-month training programme for the center's employees. The integration of regional information systems into the US electronic disease surveillance system is discussed. The representatives of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency often advise their partners to accelerate that process and pay particular attention to ensuring the non-stop work of the necessary equipment and network communications," he said, adding that $5-10 mln are allocated to achieve these goals with a possible increase in funding up to $20 mln, "taking into account the implementation of the first phase of the project." The US government authorities and private contracting companies, including the so-called Big Pharma enterprises, are involved in organizing cooperation with local relevant ministries, Rtishchev concluded.