Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pactAdnoc reports 15 ships hit in Hormuz as Iranian oil exports stallUS says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tollsWHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000US economy sheds 23,000 jobs as hiring figures are revised downThree killed in strikes on Kyiv suburb as Russian forces press toward SlovianskHouthi strikes on Yemeni army camps spill over into Saudi ArabiaUN index puts global food prices at a three-year highOpenAI halts part of Astra development as Chinese model escapes UK sandboxBrain injuries dominate as Iranian strikes wound nearly 700 US troopsAI models design working bacteriophage genomesUS Senate passes Russia and Iran sanctions billUS intelligence links Russia to explosive drone at Leipzig airportIsraeli ministers press to resume Gaza offensiveTop US commander seeks off-ramp from Iran warStudent opens fire at Thai school, killing at least fiveChina's exports jump almost a quarter in JulyUN warns Sudan's war is closing schools for millionsUkraine halts Black Sea farm exports after strikes on OdesaDe la Espriella sworn in as Colombia's presidentUkrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouse deep inside RussiaChina's rare-earth exports fall as Beijing expands Bayan Obo mineOil falls on Hormuz hopes as gold ends week higherUS intelligence warns Russia may provoke NATOTrump signs orders restricting birthright citizenshipIran's nuclear programme slowed but not stopped, assessment findsTrump unveils minerals and battery deals to counter ChinaUS long-range missile stocks run low as Trump denies shortageSK Hynix to invest $38 billion in chip capacityYen gives back half its gains after US-Japan interventionChina overtakes US in research spendingVenezuela's government and opposition meet under US mediationUS-Saudi nuclear deal raises proliferation questionsTrump renews bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook after court setbackCuba paralysed by total blackouts as Washington tightens sanctionsHaitians face arrest and deportation as US ends TPS protectionsCopper heads for record close as US and China compete for supplyIsraeli troops withdraw from Qalandiya camp after two-day raidHalf of England and all of Wales in drought after driest July on recordTyphoon Dolphin forces almost 260,000 to evacuate in southern JapanCanada offers concessions to avert 50 percent US tariffsUS reviews Chinese access to Nvidia chips in offshore data centresEU presses Meta and TikTok as Spain and Morocco reinforce CeutaFAA orders crack inspections on about 470 Boeing 737 MAX jetsUS urges Israel to ease Lebanon tensions as Rome talks continueChina vows countermeasures over Philippine actions at Scarborough ShoalIndia's nuclear-armed submarine accelerates arms race with PakistanSpain imposes border checks on travellers from Italy in Schengen rowPezeshkian rejects resignation calls as war promises go unmetMeta ordered to pay $567 million over harm to young usersSaudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pactAdnoc reports 15 ships hit in Hormuz as Iranian oil exports stallUS says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tollsWHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000US economy sheds 23,000 jobs as hiring figures are revised downThree killed in strikes on Kyiv suburb as Russian forces press toward SlovianskHouthi strikes on Yemeni army camps spill over into Saudi ArabiaUN index puts global food prices at a three-year highOpenAI halts part of Astra development as Chinese model escapes UK sandboxBrain injuries dominate as Iranian strikes wound nearly 700 US troopsAI models design working bacteriophage genomesUS Senate passes Russia and Iran sanctions billUS intelligence links Russia to explosive drone at Leipzig airportIsraeli ministers press to resume Gaza offensiveTop US commander seeks off-ramp from Iran warStudent opens fire at Thai school, killing at least fiveChina's exports jump almost a quarter in JulyUN warns Sudan's war is closing schools for millionsUkraine halts Black Sea farm exports after strikes on OdesaDe la Espriella sworn in as Colombia's presidentUkrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouse deep inside RussiaChina's rare-earth exports fall as Beijing expands Bayan Obo mineOil falls on Hormuz hopes as gold ends week higherUS intelligence warns Russia may provoke NATOTrump signs orders restricting birthright citizenshipIran's nuclear programme slowed but not stopped, assessment findsTrump unveils minerals and battery deals to counter ChinaUS long-range missile stocks run low as Trump denies shortageSK Hynix to invest $38 billion in chip capacityYen gives back half its gains after US-Japan interventionChina overtakes US in research spendingVenezuela's government and opposition meet under US mediationUS-Saudi nuclear deal raises proliferation questionsTrump renews bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook after court setbackCuba paralysed by total blackouts as Washington tightens sanctionsHaitians face arrest and deportation as US ends TPS protectionsCopper heads for record close as US and China compete for supplyIsraeli troops withdraw from Qalandiya camp after two-day raidHalf of England and all of Wales in drought after driest July on recordTyphoon Dolphin forces almost 260,000 to evacuate in southern JapanCanada offers concessions to avert 50 percent US tariffsUS reviews Chinese access to Nvidia chips in offshore data centresEU presses Meta and TikTok as Spain and Morocco reinforce CeutaFAA orders crack inspections on about 470 Boeing 737 MAX jetsUS urges Israel to ease Lebanon tensions as Rome talks continueChina vows countermeasures over Philippine actions at Scarborough ShoalIndia's nuclear-armed submarine accelerates arms race with PakistanSpain imposes border checks on travellers from Italy in Schengen rowPezeshkian rejects resignation calls as war promises go unmetMeta ordered to pay $567 million over harm to young users
Bota
Symbolic image: WHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000Symbolic image

WHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000

3 sources

Congo's Ebola outbreak has reached 4,053 confirmed cases and 1,850 deaths, the country's worst on record. WHO vaccine experts on Friday recommended a full-scale human trial of the Ervebo vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.

What happened

  • Government data released on Thursday counted the cases since the outbreak was declared on 15 May.
  • Infections cover 53 health zones in five provinces; 87 percent in Ituri, 11 percent in North Kivu.
  • Daily Sabah reports about 793 recoveries and nearly 700 patients still hospitalised or in isolation.
  • Only West Africa's 2014-2016 epidemic was larger, with more than 28,000 cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
  • A study in Science last month traced transmission to January or earlier near Mongbwalu in Ituri.

The view from outside

Al Jazeera alone reports that the WHO's own advisory group TAG-CVP prefers a Bundibugyo-specific vaccine and warns Ervebo's effect on symptomatic disease and transmission may be limited. Daily Sabah notes health authorities intercepted a river boat near Kinshasa and tested passengers after one died of suspected Ebola.

What could happen next

  • Ervebo has never been tested against Bundibugyo in humans; WHO wants it in a randomised trial during the outbreak.
  • Gavi's 500,000-dose Ervebo stockpile is to supply the trials, with some doses already in Congo.
  • Two Bundibugyo vaccines are in early human trials, a third is not yet at that stage.
  • Experts believe the true case count is higher; armed conflict in eastern Congo keeps hampering the response.
To the edition