The death toll from the Ebola virus in West African countries has increased in the past week and the problem is being exacerbated by patients refusing treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released new numbers Tuesday which showed double-digit increases in the percentages of both new cases reported and deaths from the virus in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the New York Times.

Half of the 603 deaths have been in Guinea, and the number of total deaths is an increase of 16 percent from the week before. The number of suspected and confirmed cases has reached 964, an increase of about 14 percent from the week before.

"This trend indicates that a high level of transmission of the Ebola virus continues to take place in the community," according to the WHO.

The alarming rise in numbers has spurred the Ivory Coast government to bar natives, who are refugees in Liberia, from crossing back over the border.

But the WHO has not implemented any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.

Ebola causes fever, vomiting, bleeding, diarrhea, and is highly likely to result in death, according to Reuters.

It first broke out in Africa in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the New York Times.

The increase in deaths in the recent outbreak is partially due to locals "chasing away health workers and shunning treatment," according to Reuters.

They are hiding from the workers, believing hospitalization to be a death sentence, and physically blocking workers from reaching the area by downing bridges and barring roadways to their communities.

This could potentially skew the number of deaths and cases reported since patients may not be reached.

"We are seeing a lot of mistrust, intimidation and hostility from part of the population," said Marc Poncin, emergency coordinator for medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Guinea, according to Reuters.

Police even had to resort to tear gas to block infected bodies from being recovered by their families- fearing the cadavers might be used for experiments or rituals, as well as to prevent burials which could be a risk for further spreading, according to Reuters. Ebola spreads from contact with blood and body fluids of infected people or animals.