MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Russia’s sanitary watchdog has discovered 47 new mosquito-borne viruses, as well as 14 viruses that come from ticks, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing’s head Anna Popova reported.

"The study of the virus landscape around the country is something that no one has done before. That is what the Sanitary Shield (Russian project - TASS) is about <…>. It has already found 47 new viruses carried by mosquitos and 14 by ticks. We are looking at anything that could cause harm," she said during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The agency’s press service explained that the viruses were found during the Sanitary Shield federal project in order to prepare for and prevent any potential threats. "They (viruses - TASS) are currently carefully examined in Russia’s sanitary watchdog’s agencies, and are not dangerous, according to preliminary data," the department noted.

Popova added that all the existing pathogens have been digitalized for the national catalogue of viruses. It is going to be expanded by 40,000 strains, which will make Russia’s collection larger than the US one, she concluded.