Russia to deliver mobile disease lab to African state
Russia will supply Burkina Faso with a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory capable of testing for over 20 infectious diseases, including high-risk pathogens, the Russian Ministry of Energy’s press service reported on Wednesday.
The facility, developed by Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s human welfare watchdog, can process up to 800 tests per day for more than 20 infectious diseases, including particularly dangerous ones. It is expected to arrive in the West African country by December 1, Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilev said.
“One of the advantages of this laboratory is its easy assembly and mobility – it can be transported to any location within the republic,” the minister noted.
The laboratory is being supplied under a cooperative program with African nations to fight epidemics, initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tsivilev met with Burkina Faso’s interim leader, Ibrahim Traore, and discussed expanding bilateral cooperation. The talks also resulted in the formation of a Russian-Burkinabe intergovernmental commission. The ministry reported that bilateral trade between two countries surged nearly fivefold in 2024 compared to the previous year, driven mainly by Russian exports of food, agricultural raw materials, and chemicals.
Russia has recently expanded similar outreach across Africa. In February, it delivered a mobile lab to the Republic of the Congo and later provided diagnostic kits for mpox, along with training programs for local personnel. Burundi launched operations at a specialist infectious disease research laboratory fully outfitted with Russian equipment last March.
Rospotrebnadzor earlier informed Uganda that it is willing to assist with an epidemiological investigation and anti-epidemic measures against the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV). Moscow also delivered a mobile laboratory to the landlocked country to allow for rapid laboratory diagnosis of dangerous infectious illnesses last year.
