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

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

A telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump is not currently planned, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Peskov also said that the Kremlin will publish in due course the full list of the Russian delegation to the trilateral talks on the Ukraine issue. The talks will focus on security and security guarantee-related issues, and the specific details will be discussed in the closed-door session.

Russia, the United States and Ukraine are to hold trilateral talks on the Ukraine issue in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 10-11, Peskov said at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that the Russian delegation will be led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he had a phone call of about one and a half hours with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, regarding the trilateral talks scheduled for next week.

Zelensky said Ukraine has submitted relevant proposals to the U.S. side and hopes to accelerate the negotiation process and end the conflict as soon as possible. Ukraine also called on the United States to provide more air-defense interceptor missiles.

Telephone conversation between Putin, Trump not currently planned: Kremlin spokesman