Ebola Virus Outbreak Update: West Africa Deaths Mount as New Strain is Discovered

Despite the slowdown of the Ebola virus outbreak along with as many as eight recoveries, the death toll has risen to 122 in Guinea, which is up from 101 from last week.

The World Health Organization reported the death increase on Thursday as well as the rise in number of cases. On April 11, WHO reported 101 deaths and 157 total cases of the Ebola virus in Guinea, and today those numbers have jumped to 122 and 197. These numbers include 24 infected health care workers and 47 people in the country's capital, Conakry.

Health officials believe that the continuous, yet somewhat controlled, spread of the Ebola virus is a result of it being an unknown strain. From lab tests and reports so far, the strain that has infected over 200 people did not spread from outbreaks from other African countries. Samples of the virus were sent to different countries for analysis, but still its origin and cause are unknown.

Dr. Stephan Gunther of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany told reporters at the Washington Post that the source of the virus is still unknown; a troubling finding since this has been ongoing since December. Dr. Gunther and his team of researchers published research of theirs that analyzed the genetics of the strain of the Ebola virus in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Previously believed to be a "Zaire strain" - the one found in the Democratic Republic of Congo - health officials in Africa and Europe examined the strain from Guinea in laboratories and found that it's a unique, unknown one. This dangerous finding could be troubling for neighboring countries including Mali, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where cases have already been documented.

But these countries have already taken preventive measures by restricting flights, closing some borders, and conducting health checks in airports. Whatever the cause or strain is, health officials need to identify it because there is no definitive containment of the virus at this point.

To read more about the Ebola virus outbreak in Guinea, visit this NBC News article.