Ebola cases top 7,000 in West Africa: UN

3,338 people have died after contracting the virus

The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that more than 7,000 people have been diagnosed with Ebola virus in West Africa, a UN spokesperson said Thursday.

The number of Ebola cases has totalled 7,178, with 3,338 reported deaths based on the information provided by the health ministries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a press briefing, quoting statistics given by the WHO, Xinhua reported.

"The upward epidemic trend continues in Sierra Leone and most probably also in Liberia. By contrast, the situation in Guinea appears to be more stable," he said, adding that the stable pattern of transmission is still a very grave concern and could change quickly.

Ebola, a highly contagious and fatal virus transmitted through close contact with the infected, has spread rapidly across West Africa since early cases were detected in March, leaving thousands sick and dead in its wake and sowing panic among local communities.

WHO said that 375 health care workers are known to have developed Ebola (67 in Guinea, 184 in Liberia, 11 in Nigeria, and 113 in Sierra Leone), and 211 of them have died as a result.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday announced that the first case of Ebola has been confirmed in the US.