Repeatingly there are irritating and false informations about WBA-World-Champion Ruslan Chagaev in the media. Universum Box-Promotion once again wants to point out the following: Even the Statement of the Association of Professional Ringside Physicians is obviously based on incorrect informations. Universum-Physician Michael Ehnert: "The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians states that there is a "low hepatitis B viral load" in the case of Ruslan Chagaev. The facts are: There has never been a proof of viruses or HBV-DNA in high sensitive PCR-tests since 2003. After achieving Hepatitis B many years ago Ruslan Chagaev has never been sick due to hepatitis B. He is just a healthy carrier of hepatitis antigen with constantly normal liver enzymes. Infection doesn´t mean illness. According to international expert opinions Ruslan Chagaev is regarded as non-infectious."

 

Dr. Heiner Wedemeyer, the Secretary General of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), involved in several activities of the German Liver Foundation and the German network of Excellence on Viral Hepatitis (Hep-Net), had contacted Universum independently and stated the following: “Ruslan Chagaev is completely healthy according to the documents. I don’t follow the interpretation of my colleague from the Finnish lab. It was probably done more for legal protection rather than scientific facts. There is no infectivity and Ruslan Chagaev would have without a doubt boxed for the third time without danger. Mr. Chagaev has a completely normal liver function and is not considered to be ill, he is just a bearer of the hepatitis B antigen." Wedemeyer, further urged all athletes to exclude the risk of contracting hepatitis with vaccinations. “We at the Liver Foundation say that every athlete should inoculate themselves against hepatitis and we have already carried out this initiative with the German Olympic team in 2008.”