Warning on ebola from U.S. doctor who survived it

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WPVI) -- Dr. Kent brantly, the first American to contract the Ebola virus, is calling for global action against the disease, which is still a serious threat

Writing in an op-ed in the Washington post, Brantly, who recently went back to Liberia on a visit, says while most of America has already put Ebola in the history books, the struggle continues in West Africa.

Guinea & Sierra Leone have 20 to 30 new cases a week, and there have been new ones in Liberia in recent weeks.

Brantly says fear trumped compassion and science in public health policy and most other reactions in the U.S to Ebola last year.

And he feels that will have far-reaching effects, by marginalizing nations with Ebola cases and preventing them from building stronger health systems.

"We too quickly give up on caring for people with a protracted need for help, leaving the defenseless to fend for themselves," he wrote.

Brantly calls for countries around the world to decide on a response and to choose compassion over apathy.