According to World Health Organization figures released Wednesday the death toll in the world`s worst-ever Ebola epidemic has now soared past 3,300, with the virus killing almost half of the more than 7,000 people it has infected.
In its latest update, the UN health agency said a total of 7,178 people had been infected across five west African countries and that of those 3,338 had died.
At the weekend, the UN health agency said a total of 6,574 people had been infected and that of those 3,091 had died.
WHO has repeatedly stressed its data changes do not mean that the individuals have died or been infected in the days between updates, but rather that they reflect the belated count as the epidemic rages.
Separately, health officials in the United States have announced the country`s first case of Ebola in a man who was infected in Liberia and travelled to Texas. He is in a serious but stable condition.
The UN launched a mission Thursday to prevent the global spread of Ebola, describing the epidemic as the world`s "highest priority" as the US scrambled to limit its own outbreak to one patient.