All news

Live samples of Ebola end up in US lab, says Russian general

According to Igor Kirillov, the samples were sent to the institute after Metabiota employees had collected them in an unauthorized manner during the 2014 outbreak of the virus disease in West Africa

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Samples of Ebola ended up in a US military laboratory after unauthorized collecting of live samples by employees of Metabiota, a key Pentagon contractor, said Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov.

"As a result of the illegal export of samples, live samples of the Ebola virus ended up at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infections," Kirillov told a news briefing.

According to him, the samples were sent to the institute after Metabiota employees had collected them in an unauthorized manner during the 2014 outbreak of the virus disease in West Africa.

"The company's nontransparent practices immediately raised questions from the World Health Organization," Kirillov added.