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Russia not at risk of dengue fever outbreak — sanitary watchdog

The agency noted that Russia's sanitary watchdog specialists constantly track the epidemiological situation in Russia and in the world

MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. Russia is not at risk of an epidemic of dengue fever, as its mosquito population does not carry the disease, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing assured reporters.

"An outbreak of dengue fever in Russia is out of the question, <...> as the carrier of the disease is the Aedes Albopictus mosquito, which is not indigenous to Russia, except for some southern territories, but even those are not infected. The disease is not transmitted from person to person," the agency's press service said.

It noted that Russia's sanitary watchdog specialists constantly track the epidemiological situation in Russia and in the world. According to media reports, the number of dengue fever cases in Europe is increasing due to climate change and mosquito spread. A rise in the incidence of the disease is also currently observed in Latin American and Southeast Asian countries.

According to the agency, imported cases of dengue fever from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Dominican Republic are annually recorded in Russia. "Territorial bodies and institutions of Russia's sanitary watchdog conduct routine monitoring of the number and geographical distribution of mosquitoes in order to take measures to regulate the population and conduct pest control," the report said.

The press service added that scientists of Russia’s Central Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology have developed high-precision test systems to detect the disease. Automated information retrieval system "Perimeter" operates at checkpoints across the state border, able to analyze epidemic risks and identify citizens with symptoms of infectious diseases arriving from countries where diseases are prevalent.