The Russian Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has urged Russian citizens to refrain from traveling to the country's eastern regions due to the Ebola outbreak, according to a warning from the Russian diplomatic mission addressed to citizens currently in the DRC or planning to arrive in the country.
"In connection with the worsening sanitary and epidemiological situation in the DRC, the Russian Embassy draws attention to the need to take existing risks into account when planning trips to the Republic and strongly recommends not visiting the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, where an outbreak of Ebola virus disease has been recorded," the statement said.
To reduce the risk of infection, the embassy also recommended refraining from visiting crowded places in other regions, observing personal hygiene rules, and taking other precautionary measures.
Earlier in May, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russia would assist the authorities of the DRC and Uganda in containing the Ebola outbreak in a short time frame.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern. On May 22, the WHO reported 177 deaths from the disease and more than 750 suspected cases.
In response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, authorities in Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania, and Rwanda have announced measures to combat the infection.
Ebola is a severe, acute viral disease with a high fatality rate. Transmission occurs through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals, as well as with contaminated surfaces and materials.