The American doctor who survived a bout with Ebola is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to urge action in the fight against the deadly disease.
"What's at stake is humanity, human lives,” Dr. Kent Brantly told NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell.
“This outbreak is now growing at an exponential rate and every day that we delay, it's hundreds of human lives” he said.
Brantly, who was near death just weeks ago before he was evacuated from Liberia to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, is slowly recovering and getting stronger each day, he told NBC News.
He is scheduled to testify before a House subcommittee about his ordeal, a day after President Barack Obama called the Ebola outbreak "out of control" and announced the U.S. was setting up a military command center to fight the epidemic in West Africa.
Some 5,000 people have been infected with Ebola, with the death toll climbing to 2,500, according to the World Health Organization. It called the outbreak “unparalleled in modern times” and warned up to 20,000 people could be infected in the coming months.
In-Depth
Battlefield Ebola: U.S. military will aid fight against 'unparalled' epidemic