Ebola death toll tops 10,000: WHO

The World Heath Organisation says the death toll from the Ebola epidemic has surpassed 10,000.

The World Health Organisation says the death toll from the Ebola epidemic has surpassed 10,000. (AAP)

More than 10,000 people have now died from the Ebola virus, almost all of them in west Africa, the World Health Organisation says.

The three hardest-hit countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have recorded 24,350 cases and 10,004 deaths since the epidemic began more than a year ago, the UN body said on Thursday.

There have also been six deaths in Mali, one in the United States and eight in Nigeria, all of which have since been declared Ebola-free.