The death toll in Guinea-Bissau's rapidly spreading cholera epidemic is rising and the outbreak may continue for months, United Nations agencies said on Tuesday.

The death toll is now 213, with 12,785 people known to be infected, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told a news briefing in Geneva.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that experience from the last major epidemic in 2005 suggested the present outbreak in the West African country would continue for at least another three months, peaking by November.

About 140 people are getting infected each day with the water-borne disease that is especially dangerous for young children, the WHO said. Cholera starts with acute diarrhoea and can lead to kidney failure.

Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, suffered a large-scale cholera epidemic three years ago that made 25,000 people ill and killed more than 400. U.N. officials have said the country's crumbling water and sanitation infrastructure has hindered efforts to keep the disease in check.