Ebola Death Toll Rises to 121 - World Health Organisation

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa has caused the deaths of 121 people.

The new figure of 121 deaths caused by Ebola represents an increase of 44% from the last estimate of 84.

The organisation has claimed that over 200 total suspected cases of the virus have been reported in Guinea and Liberia where most of the deaths have occurred.

"We have not had an Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa before," Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general at WHO told AFP.

The most virulent strains of the virus have a fatality rate of 90%, while this outbreak has claimed over two thirds of the infected patients.

The virus is spread by contact and symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and external bleeding.

There is no vaccine or cure for the virus which means that the West African outbreak could last for months. The only prevention methods are isolating those with the virus and anyone who has come into contact with them.

Outbreaks are believed to originate from jungle hunters who ate the flesh of apes that died of Ebola. The disease chain continues after such animals have fed on fruit marked with bat faeces or saliva, according to the New York Times.