Number of Ebola cases in Congo surpasses 1,000

The number of Ebola cases in Congo has surpassed1,000, the health ministry said, as the second-largest outbreak everof the virus continues to wreak havoc in the central African country. "Behind these numbers are several hundred Congolese families directlyaffected by the virus and hundreds of orphans," health minister OlyIlunga Kalenga said in a statement released late on Sunday. Kalenga described the outbreak as "a human and social tragedy."A total of 629 people have died of Ebola in the outbreak in easternCongo, which began shortly after the country's government in Junedeclared an end to another outbreak in the west of the country. Some 320 people had recovered, placing the average survival ratewithin treatment centres at more than 60 per cent, the ministrystatement said.More than 91,000 people have been vaccinated against the virus sinceAugust, it added.Authorities and aid groups have struggled to do their jobs in thedangerous eastern region where numerous militias operate, mostfighting over the country's rich natural resources.Ebola is a highly infectious disease that causes a fever and oftenleads to massive internal bleeding and death.