Seventeen people have been killed by the ebola virus in Sierra Leone out of 46 infections, the country's health authority Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

"Since the index case on May 24 when we had the first confirmed case in the Kissi Teng axis in the Kailahun District, we have been having cases almost on a daily basis from the district and we now see the trend moving to Daru," said Yaya Tunis, the Ministry's head of communication.

"Hospitals throughout the country have been instructed to set up isolation units and we are visiting these facilities to ensure that there is compliance. Treatment centers have been established in various sites in Kailahun, the most recent being in Daru, which for now, is the epicenter of ebola," Tunis said.