SARS Virus Sample Arrives in Russia

Russian medical laboratories start receiving the control sample of the lethal virus 

Russian laboratories have the control virus of the severe acute respiratory syndrome now. Russian Surgeon General Gennady Onischenko released an official statement about it on Wednesday. Interfax news agency reported that the control sample of the SARS virus had been delivered to the State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology in the city of  Novosibirsk (Siberia). It is planned to hand the virus over to other laboratories in the future as well.

"We have received the control sample of the virus from Germany. Another control virus is expected to come from the USA soon," Onischenko was quoted by Interfax as saying. Speaking about the advantages that Russian doctors would get with the control virus, the surgeon general stated that the sample would serve as the "standard to confirm and control our test systems."

Gennady Onischenko has recently said he was sure that the SARS virus had already penetrated on the territory of Russia. The surgeon general stated he was certain that Denis Soynikov, a resident of the city of Blagoveschensk, had been infected with SARS, in spite of the fact that the doctors had withdrawn the diagnosis. Onischenko said that Soynikov's diagnosis had been confirmed on two ratings from the total amount of five.

According to the official data from the World Health Organization, 7,956 people have been infected with the SARS virus as of May 21st; 666 of them have already deceased.

Mednovosti