GENEVA (AFP) – The death toll in west Africa’s three-nation Ebola outbreak has risen to 337, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, making it the deadliest ever outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever.

Guinea, the hardest-hit country has reached 264

Fresh data from the UN health agency showed thatthe number of deaths in Guinea, the hardest-hit country, has reached 264, while 49 had died in Sierra Leone and 24 in Liberia.

The new toll marks a more than 60-percent hike since the WHO’s last figure on June 4, when it said 208 people had succumbed to the deadly virus.

Including the deaths, 528 people across the three count the practice of moving the dead to be buried in other villages.

West African authorities have also been struggling to stop mourners from touching bodies during traditional funeral rituals.