GENEVA, December 30. /TASS/. The number of people killed by the Ebola virus has reached 7,879, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Tuesday.

A total of 20,129 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported, the report said. The data refer to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In line with statistics, the maximum number of Ebola-related deaths and cases is registered in Liberia - 3,413 cumulative deaths and 7,977 cumulative cases. Liberia is followed by Sierra Leone (2,578 deaths and 9,446 cases) and Guinea (1,708 and 2,706 respectively).

The Ebola virus disease, previously known as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe illness in humans, often fatal, according to the WHO. The virus is passed on to people from wild animals and can be transmitted from humans to humans. The average EVD case death rate is some 50%

The first outbreaks of the EVD occurred in remote Central African villages, near tropical rainforests. However, major urban and rural areas have been involved in the most recent outbreak in western Africa.

Early supportive care, which includes rehydration and symptomatic treatment, improves the survival rate.

No licensed treatment has yet been proven to be able to neutralize the virus but a number of blood, immunological and drug medications are under development. There are no licensed Ebola vaccines yet but two candidates are being evaluated.