MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia is taking steps to ensure protection against the deadly West African Ebola virus, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said on Wednesday.

“We are regularly introducing additional measures...and feel on firm ground as to protection against the virus,” she said. “We have a substantial team working at the site and control the activity of our specialists online. Work is under way to make a vaccine which will be used as soon as we have had clinical trials.”

World Health Organization officials say the Ebola outbreak has killed more than 3,500 and infected more than 7,500. Analysts say the epidemic is emerging as a global threat requiring co-ordinated attention.

The outbreak started in West Africa in December 2013 and has spread across five countries - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal.