Democratic Republic of the Congo: Confirmed Ebola cases top 7,500 as vaccine trial launched for Bundibugyo strain.

Shotlist Ituri Province, DR Congo - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of Ebola treatment center, medical workers in protective suits 2. Various of nurse working in ward 3. Various of medical worker doing disinfecting work Bunia City, Ituri Province, DR Congo - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 4. Temporary hospital; medical workers in protective suit 5. Medical worker washing hands Beni, North Kivu, DR Congo - July 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 6. Ambulance Bunia City, Ituri Province, DR Congo - May 30, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of health workers putting on protective clothing Goma, North Kivu Province, DR Congo - May 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 8. Various of people having body temperature checked Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo - July 24-25, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Poster for Ebola prevention 10. Various of people having body temperature checked 11. Pedestrians; traffic Storyline 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.