No new Ebola cases last week

The World Health Organization has said there were no new cases of Ebola reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the week to October 4, the first time since March 2014 a week has passed without any new cases being reported.

The healthy body said in a report on Wednesday that there "remains a near-term risk of further cases" of the deadly virus, which has killed 11,297 people out of 28,421 infected since the outbreak began.

There have been less than 10 confirmed cases per week for the past 11 weeks across the West African countries, while instances of transmission have been geographically limited to small areas. WHO said this marks "a transition to a distinct, third phase of the epidemic."

In Guinea, more than 500 people remain under follow-up and some 290 people who may have had contact with someone infected with the virus remain untraceable, WHO said.

Sierra Leone has gone three consecutive weeks without a new case of Ebola. The last person to receive treatment in the country was released on September 26, but two high risk contacts remain untraced. The country must now wait 42 days to be declared free of the virus.

Liberia was declared free of Ebola on September 3.