Updated 8:23am: The World Health Organisation is now putting the number of people infected with Ebola at more than 10 thousand.

And it says nearly five thousand have now died from the virus.

Although the Ebola outbreak is largely limited to West Africa, there've also been confirmed cases in the United States, Spain and now Mali.

The US states of New York and New Jersey are stepping up their defences.

Mandatory quarantine rules have been brought in for doctors who've been treating people in the worst affected countries, after a doctor in New York developed Ebola.

President Obama is trying to maintain calm.

He says people in the Big Apple have set an example.

"They did what they do every day.

"Jumping on buses, riding the subway, crowding in elevators...

"That spirit, that determination to carry on, is part of what makes New York one of the greatest cities in the world."

Ebola claims first Mali victim

Authorities in Mali are scrambling to calm fears, after Ebola claimed its first victim there.

A two-year-old girl died after travelling by bus from neighbouring Guinea.

And the US states of New York and New Jersey are stepping up their defences.

Mandatory quarantine has now been ordered for medics who've treated victims in west Africa.