Confirmed Ebola cases top 7,500 in DR Congo as vaccine trial launched for Bundibugyo strain

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported over 7,500 confirmed Ebola cases in its deadliest ever outbreak. Health authorities have launched a vaccine study to evaluate whether a Zaire-strain vaccine can protect against the circulating Bundibugyo variant, local media reported Saturday.

According to the figures released by the DRC government, the country has recorded 7,541 confirmed Ebola infections as of Saturday, with 3,639 fatalities.

Declared in May, the current outbreak has become the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in the DRC's history and the second largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Thursday that available data does not yet confirm the outbreak has reached its peak, and the virus remains uncontrolled.

The current outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no licensed vaccines or specific therapies currently exist.

To address this gap, local media reported that DRC health authorities, in collaboration with the Africa CDC and other partners, have planned to administer a Zaire-strain Ebola vaccine to roughly 20,000 frontline response workers across Ituri and North Kivu provinces. Recipients will be monitored for 9 to 12 months to assess the vaccine's protective efficacy against the Bundibugyo strain.

The vaccine effort is supported by an international allocation approved in August. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision granted an initial 70,000 doses of the vaccine to the DRC: 50,000 for health care and frontline workers, and 20,000 for use in a phase 3 clinical trial.

According to the Africa CDC, DRC authorities began rolling out vaccinations to high-risk groups on August 27. As of Thursday, a total of 3,771 people nationwide had completed their vaccination.

Confirmed Ebola cases top 7,500 in DR Congo as vaccine trial launched for Bundibugyo strain

China's six-member wushu taolu team began its Asian Games campaign on Sunday, the first full day of competition at the 20th Asian Games, with five athletes making their debut.

Wushu at the Games is divided into taolu, which features choreographed martial arts routines, and sanda, a full-contact fighting discipline. The taolu competition runs from Sunday through Wednesday, Sept. 20-23, at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall in Nagoya, Japan.

The squad has completed two familiarization sessions at the venue and will contest in six of the eight taolu medal events, skipping the men's and women's Changquan, or long-fist, competitions.

The six athletes are aged from 25 to 35. Tong Xin is the only member with previous Asian Games experience.

"Apart from Tong Xin, who competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the remaining five athletes are making their Asian Games debuts. They are leading athletes from their provincial teams and seasoned competitors who have been tested at major events, including world championships and World Cups," said Li Qiang, head coach of China's wushu taolu team.

While the Asian Games will be new to most of the squad, their competition routines are not. The athletes have been refining them for more than three years, and in some cases for a decade.

"A wushu saying goes: 'Practice a form a thousand times, and the technique will come naturally.' After honing a movement day after day, year after year, our understanding of it and our feel for it change. Another saying is 'strive for perfection.' That is why we spend 10 years working on a single movement," said Li Jianming, a member of the team.

China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants

China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants