(CNN) -- Ebola is not a death sentence. That is the lesson to the world from the release this week of Dr. Craig Spencer from a hospital in New York. Less than three weeks ago, Spencer was diagnosed with Ebola and admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York. On Tuesday, he walked out, free of the virus. Spencer had been treating Ebola patients in Guinea. He knew he was risking his life. But he also knew that, given proper care, people can survive this disease. Indeed, eight of the nine people treated for Ebola in the United States have returned home safely to their families.
@highlight
Almost 5,000 people have died in current Ebola outbreak, David Nabarro says
@highlight
Case of Craig Spencer shows the virus isn't a death sentence, he says
@highlight
Ebola has caused inestimable suffering and havoc in West Africa, Nabarro says
In, @placeholder, however, too many Ebola patients are dying from the disease, nearly 5,000 from the about 13,500 cases that have been reported.