The death toll from the worst Ebola outbreak in history has jumped by almost 200 in a single day to at least 2,296, the World Health Organisation says, warning the toll is already likely to be higher.
The WHO said it had recorded 4,293 cases in five West African countries as of September 6.
It still did not have new figures for Liberia, the worst-affected country, suggesting the true toll is already much higher.
The WHO said it expects thousands of new cases in Liberia in the next three weeks.
As well as struggling to contain the disease, the organisation is having difficulty compiling data on the number of cases, said Sylvie Briand, the director of WHO’s department of pandemic and epidemic diseases.
“It’s a war against this virus. It’s a very difficult war,” she said.
“What we try now is to win some battles at least in some places.”
The outbreak began last December and has been gathering pace for months, but about 60 per cent of Liberia’s cases and deaths occurred within the last three weeks, the data showed.
In Guinea and Sierra Leone, the other two countries at the centre of the outbreak, only 39 per cent of cases and around 29 per cent of deaths have occurred in the past three weeks, suggesting they are doing better at tackling the outbreak.
The new figures also showed two new suspected cases in Senegal in addition to one previously confirmed case there.
In Nigeria, the overall number of cases fell to 21 from 22, as at least one suspected case turned out not be Ebola.
Ebola threatening Liberia’s existence: minister
Liberia’s defence minister has told the United Nations the Ebola outbreak is threatening his country’s existence.
The hardest-hit country is bracing for more catastrophe with an expected upsurge in cases that have already left upwards of 1,200 dead – more than half of those killed by the disease in West Africa.
“Liberia is facing a serious threat to its national existence,” minister Brownie Samukai said.
The disease is “now spreading like wild fire, devouring everything in its path,” he said.
He said Liberia’s already weak health system is overwhelmed and the country lacks the “infrastructure, logistical capacity, professional expertise and financial resources to effectively address this disease”.
US ambassador Samantha Power said more needs to be done to stop the spread of the virus, but emphasised that international organizations like the UN, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, as well as governments around the globe must collectively “be looking at how we up our game”.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is planning a “high-level event” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month to “highlight the needs and required response” to the Ebola crisis, his spokesman said.
Mr Ban discussed the planned meeting with president Barack Obama during a phone conversation Monday, suggesting that the US leader could be asked to attend.
The UN is appealing for $600 million for supplies to West Africa as part of a massive surge of aid, with countries asked to send doctors, nurses, beds, trucks, equipment and other vehicles to the affected countries.
The world body has set a goal of stopping the worst-ever Ebola outbreak within six to nine months.
“I don’t think that anyone can say right now that the international response to the Ebola outbreak is sufficient,” Ms Power said.
The tropical virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea – in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.
No widely available vaccine or treatment exists, but health experts are looking at fast-tracking two potential vaccines and eight treatments including the drug ZMapp.