The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the Ebola virus has already killed 5,689 individuals among 15,935 reported cases, wrote Reuters. The report was curated from eight countries as of Nov. 23, with predominant numbers attributed to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Other countries with statistical contribution include Mali, Spain, the United States of America, Nigeria and Senegal.

The situation report highlighted the virus' magnitude in Africa's most affected countries. Accordingly, cases in Guinea are more stable -- with 148 confirmed cases in the week prior to Nov. 23. Liberia's are either stable or dropping, confirming 67 new cases in the same week. Sierra Leone's was increasing, confirming 385 new cases at the same time.

Reuters said Sierra Leone has requested American military support on Wednesday, claiming that the country is lagging behind its deadly battle against the West African virus.

Efforts continue to abide by the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) plan of isolating 70% and burying 70% of fatalities safely before Dec. 1. The program's ultimate goal is to isolate 100% of all Ebola cases and safely bury 100% of all Ebola casualties by Jan. 1, 2015.

The current outbreak all started from the infection acquired by a two-year-old Guinean boy. According to BBC, Emile Ouamouno began exhibiting signs of the disease such as fever, headache and bloody diarrhea following viral exposure in the village of Meliandou. It was believed that the village's geographic isolation and greenery may have attracted Ebola-hosting fruit bats, ultimately passing the virus to the young boy. Emile's sister Philomene and pregnant mother Sia died shortly after his passing.

Hesitation in receiving medical treatment may also be a contributing factor to the outbreak. Monrovia physician Darin Portnoy said via the outlet, "People are hesitant and fearful as they don't know what happens in a treatment unit and have heard lots of negative stories."

"That's where we lose the battle -- when people hesitate to come in. We can't get on top of the disease when people turn up four, five days into their illness," he added.

Recently, RT reported that an experimental Ebola vaccine has proven itself to be successful among 20 initial subjects. Formulated by NIH and GlaxoSmithKline, the vaccine initiates a response that produces antibodies against Ebola. When given at a dose higher than usual, the vaccine appears to cause fever. Nevertheless, no other adverse effects or untoward reactions were noted.

Download WHO's full situation report here.

Watch an Ebola infographic video (via SciShow) below.