MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Russia has developed a test kit for diagnosing the Bundibugyo virus, the country's sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said.

"Amid the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, scientists from Rospotrebnadzor’s Central Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology, among the first in the world, developed test kits for PCR-diagnosing this virus variant, with the set of reagents being officially registered. This is a major contribution to strengthening Russia’s technological independence in the sphere of biosecurity," it said.

According to the watchdog, the test kit provides high sensitivity and specificity even in the early stages of infection, when clinical symptoms are still nonspecific and difficult to distinguish from malaria and other diseases endemic to Central Africa. The new tests were immediately sent to the DRC, the Republic of the Congo, and Uganda, where Rospotrebnadzor specialists, together with their African colleagues, confirmed their effectiveness on the ground, including at the very epicenter of the outbreak and in comparative trials with test systems from other countries. The Russian-developed test was highly praised by local experts for its ease of use and accuracy. In total, more than 7,500 tests have already been delivered to African countries.