FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018 file photo, a health worker feeds a boy suspected of having the Ebola virus at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, Eastern Congo. The World Health Organization says Ebola deaths in Congo's latest outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday, May 3, 2019. WHO's emergencies chief made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)
The Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) - The Latest on the Ebola outbreak in Congo (all times local):
7:15 p.m.
Congo's Health Ministry says more than 1,000 people have died in an Ebola outbreak that started in August.
Health Minister Oly Ilunga confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the number of infected people who have died reached 1,008.
Congolese health officials have operated treatment centers at the epicenter of the epidemic since international aid organizations pulled out amid deteriorating security conditions.
Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee suspend operations in the towns of Butembo and Kutwa. Vaccination campaigns also have slowed in areas too volatile for health personnel to visit.
Despite the mounting death toll, the World Health Organization has said the outbreak remains geographically isolated and hasn't spread to neighboring countries.
1:30 p.m.
The World Health Organization says deaths from Congo's latest Ebola outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday.
Michael Ryan, WHO's emergencies chief, made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva.
The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust.
Ebola treatment centers have come under repeated attack, and a Cameroonian epidemiologist working with WHO was killed last month.
Ryan says another attempted attack was made on the treatment center in Butembo city on Thursday but was repelled by security personnel. No one was injured.
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FILE - In this Sunday, Sept 9, 2018 file photo, Kasereka Mulanda, 24, talks with his wife who is suffering from the Ebola virus in an isolation area in Beni, Eastern Congo. The World Health Organization says Ebola deaths in Congo's latest outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday, May 3, 2019. WHO's emergencies chief made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Saturday, June 2, 2018 file photo, a health worker checks the temperature of people disembarking from a plane at the airport in Kinshasa, Congo. The World Health Organization says Ebola deaths in Congo's latest outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday, May 3, 2019. WHO's emergencies chief made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Sunday, Sept 9, 2018 file photo, a health worker sprays disinfectant on his colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo. The World Health Organization says Ebola deaths in Congo's latest outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday, May 3, 2019. WHO's emergencies chief made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Tuesday April, 16, 2019 file photo, a child suspected of having the Ebola virus at a treatment centre in Beni, Eastern Congo. The World Health Organization says Ebola deaths in Congo's latest outbreak are expected to exceed 1,000 later on Friday, May 3, 2019. WHO's emergencies chief made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo in August is already the second deadliest outbreak in history, and efforts to control it have been complicated by a volatile security situation and deep community mistrust. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)
The Associated Press
Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, speaks about the Update on WHO Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 03, 2019. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, speaks about the Update on WHO Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 3, 2019. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, speaks about the Update on WHO Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 03, 2019. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, speaks about the Update on WHO Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 03, 2019. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press