Ebola toll reaches 5K: WHO

The numbers supersede figures the UN health agency gave last Friday, when it reported 4,960 deaths and 13,268 cases. WHO has acknowledged though that the number of deaths is likely far higher, given that the fatality rate in the current outbreak is known to be around 70 percent.

The fresh toll, which runs through November 9, comes as the outbreak appeared to be spreading in Mali, with four Ebola cases, all of whom died, confirmed or suspected in that country.

The deadliest Ebola outbreak ever meanwhile continues to affect Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone the most. In its latest toll, the WHO said 2,836 deaths were recorded in Liberia, out of a total of 6,822 cases. In Sierra Leone, 1,169 people had died from the virus out of 5,368 cases.

In Guinea, there were 1,142 deaths from 1,878 cases. Data from Nigeria and Senegal remained unchanged, and both countries have been declared Ebola free. Nigeria had eight deaths and 20 cases, while Senegal had one case and no deaths.

In Mali, WHO reported three additional Ebola deaths, but said they were not linked to the only other case and death recorded in the country -- that of a two-year-old girl from Guinea. There has been one case of infection in Spain, where an infected nurse has recovered.

In the United States, four Ebola cases have been recorded and one person -- a Liberian -- had died from the virus.

Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to man, is spread only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms such as fever or vomiting. People caring for the sick or handling the bodies of people infected Ebola are therefore especially exposed.

WHO said today that a total of 564 healthcare workers were known to have contracted the virus, and 320 of them had died.