(Photo : Reuters)

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the three worst-hit countries in West Africa reached 6,583 as of Dec. 10, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Updated figures on the WHO website showed that 18,188 cases have been recorded in the three nations in the worst outbreak of the disease on record.

The viral haemorrhagic fever was first detected in the southeastern forest region of Guinea early this year before spreading to neighbors Liberia and Sierra Leone, which now has the highest number of infections, according to the WHO.

(Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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