American doctor Dr. Richard Sacra was cured of the deadly Ebola virus after he contracted the lethal disease while on a medical mission in West Africa in August 2014. Now, Sacra is reportedly returning to Liberia to lend a hand to his exhausted colleagues in that region.

According to Sacra, "The medical staff is a little bit reduced. They've been working very hard and frankly they need a little bit of a breather. I just feel the need to return to hopefully give them a break so they don't burn out."

Sacra said that he is most likely returning to the same missionary hospital where he worked for years prior to his infection. He flies back to Liberia on Thursday and, although Sacra has already said that he will not be working closely with Ebola patients upon his return. The American doctor is reportedly going to be working with malaria patients and others with different chronic health issues, but he also said that he is committed to lend his assistance to the ongoing Ebola effort whenever necessary.

Now nearly fully recovered from his illness, Sacra is considered immune to the virus, but he says that he has no intention of testing the limits of his immunity and that he will be strictly adhering to Ebola safety protocols while he is there. Liberia is one of the hardest-hit countries during the recent Ebola outbreak where the disease has already claimed more than 8,000 lives according to statistics posted by the World Health Organisation. However, the country is now believed to be on the its way to controlling the spread of the deadly disease with only 70 new cases confirmed over the past three weeks, compared to the 300 new cases in Guinea and 900 in Sierra Leone.

Sacra is among the health workers who have received treatment for the Ebola virus within the United States. He has now become the first American Ebola survivor to return to West Africa, following William Pooley. A British nurse who also recently returned to Sierra Leone after being treated for the virus in September.