NOVOSIBIRSK, October 24. /TASS/. Russia has launched the production of a trial batch of the Ebola vaccine Triazavirin that will be sent to Africa in the coming days for efficiency tests, head of the vaccine producer Yunona (Juno) pharmaceutical holding Alexander Petrov said on Friday.

The vaccine was created by the Ural Biopharmaceutical Technology Center.

Triazavirin has been approved by the Russian Health Ministry, Petrov said. “Studies have confirmed the medicine’s high efficiency against a number of viral infections — influenza, tick-borne encephalitis and exotic viruses that are common in Africa and Asia,” the scientist said. Tests of Triazavirin have shown the vaccine’s high efficiency (70-90%) against various kinds of haemorrhagic fevers, including Marburg fever, which has a close relation to Ebola.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said on October 13 that Russian specialists were close to completing the work to create the Ebola fever vaccine. Moreover, Russia and Guinea will ink a memorandum on the fight with the Ebola virus outbreak in the coming week, Golodets said on Friday. “We are working together with Guinea’s leadership on the issues related to signing a memorandum on joint efforts in the fight with the Ebola virus outbreak,” she said.