Ebola stabilizes in Guinea, worsens in Sierra Leone

The World Health Organization said the number of Ebola cases appears to have stabilized in Guinea — where the recent outbreak of the deadly virus first surfaced in March — but that there has been further deterioration in Sierra Leone.

The Geneva-based organization made the assessment as it released its latest figures on the number of people now thought to have died from the disease: 2,917.

The WHO said a total of 6,262 people from across Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone have been infected with the virus.

On Wednesday, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma warned that more needed to be done in his country or "the situation will rapidly deteriorate."

His comments came as the lifting of a nationwide lockdown revealed the outbreak in Sierra Leone is worse than thought and the president ordered three more "hotspots" of transmission to be cordoned off. Around a third of the country is now under quarantine.

Data from Liberia were conflicting. Amid a drop in new confirmed cases, reports from first responders suggested the situation there has gotten worse in recent days, the WHO said in its latest Ebola update.

"Nigeria is free of the virus now but we know that to be permanently free from it, we must remain vigilant and work with WHO and the international community to eradicate it completely from our sub-region and forestall the possibility of its re-emergence on our shores through migration," Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said Wednesday night.

Later Thursday, President Obama will address a special meeting at the United Nations on the threat posed by Ebola.

Contributing: Associated Press