Russia has sent Turkmenistan test kits for detecting monkeypox, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) said in its Wednesday press release.
"Russian test systems were delivered by Rospotrebnadzor to Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan,” Rospotrebnadzor said, adding that “in addition, Rospotrebnadzor specialists organize special seminars for colleagues from partner countries on laboratory diagnostics of monkeypox."
The test kits were produced by the Russian State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology Vector.
By the end of July, Russia will also deliver monkeypox test kits to Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo, according to Rospotrebnadzor.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on July 23. The designation means the WHO now sees the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from spreading further and potentially escalating into a pandemic.