Geneva/New York, Muharram 29, 1436, Nov 22, 2014, SPA -- The United Nations on Friday said it was expanding its Ebola emergency mission to Mali, while the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the number of people infected with Ebola has reached 15,351 in a total of eight countries. Since the outbreak started in West Africa late last year, 5,459 people have died from the viral disease, according to the latest WHO figures. Speaking in Washington DC, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the spread of Ebola in Mali was "a cause of deep concern" and had instructed the UN mission for Ebola emergency response to urgently set up operations in the country. "Decisive national action combined with international support today will help to prevent a spread of the outbreak in Mali to crisis proportions tomorrow," dpa quoted Ban as saying. The UN chief said that Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita requested the UN's assistance after the country recorded a total of six Ebola deaths. Ban noted that while the overall rate of Ebola transmissions has slowed down in the three worst-affected countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the international community needs to keep up its efforts to stop the disease. "I appeal to the international community to stay engaged," Ban said. "If we continue to accelerate our response, we can contain and end the outbreak by the middle of next year." --SPA 12:19 LOCAL TIME 09:19 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w