Ebola outbreak deaths approach 4,500:WHO

A total of 4,493 people have died from the world's worst Ebola outbreak on record by Oct. 12, statistics released by the World Health Organization showed on Wednesday.

WHO said a total of 8,997 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola had been reported in seven countries.

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These include Spain and the United States, where a handful of health-care workers are ill, and Senegal and Nigeria, which appear to have prevented further spread of the disease.

"It is clear that the situation in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone is deteriorating, with widespread and persistent transmission of [Ebola]," the WHO report stated.

The UN health agency said 427 health-care workers are known to have been infected with Ebola up to the end of Oct. 12. Of those, 236 have died.