Ebola spreading intensely in Sierra Leone as global toll rises

The death toll from the Ebola epidemic has risen to 6,070 out of 17,145 cases as of Nov. 30, and the virus continues to spread intensely across Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Sierra Leone recorded 537 new Ebola cases in the week to Nov. 30, against 385 the previous week, the WHO said in its latest update.

"Transmission remains persistent and intense across the country with the exception of the south," it said, adding that the capital Freetown accounted for 202 of the 537 latest cases.

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"In western areas of Sierra Leone such as Freetown and Port Loko, treatment and isolation capacity continues to be stretched by a large volume of new patients," it said.

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone account for all but 15 of the deaths in the world's worst Ebola outbreak. Sierra Leone has recorded 1,455 out of 2,039 new cases in the three countries in the last 21 days, corresponding to the virus incubation period.

"At a national level, there is now sufficient bed capacity in Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) treatment facilities to treat and isolate all reported EVD cases in each of the three countries, although the uneven distribution of beds and cases means there are serious shortfalls in some areas," the WHO said.