Washington, Aug 16 (IANS): An American doctor who contracted Ebola in Liberia said he was "recovering in every way", and that he was looking forward to being reunited with his family.

"There are still a few hurdles to clear before I can be discharged," Xinhua quoted Kent Brantly as saying in a statement Friday.

"But I hold on to the hope of a sweet reunion with my wife, children and family in the near future," Brantly added.

Brantly was working for humanitarian organisation Samaritan's Purse in West Africa, treating Ebola patients at a Liberia hospital when he contracted the Ebola virus.

Earlier this month, he was flown to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he has been in an isolation unit for treatment.

Both Brantly and Nancy Writebol, another American who also contracted Ebola in Liberia, received an experimental treatment while still in West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak has killed over 1,000 people.

Writebol is also treated at the Emory isolation unit and is reportedly getting better.

"Thank you for your prayers for Nancy and me," Brantly wrote in the statement released by Samaritan's Purse.

On Aug 8, WHO declared that the Ebola outbreak raging in West Africa constitutes "an international public health emergency" and provided advice to countries to help contain the current Ebola outbreak.

The number of cases attributed to Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone stands at 1,975, including 1,069 deaths.