The news coming out of West Africa is the stuff of nightmares. The dreaded Ebola virus is spreading in certain countries there at a rate that is much faster than the efforts being made to curb it — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are all reeling from the devastating effects of a sickness that has no cure, no vaccine and a high fatality rate of about 50 to 70 percent. So far, almost 9,000 people have been victims of the virus with as many as 4,500 deaths in these African countries. What is even more terrifying is the fact that Ebola is finally, for the first time ever, making its way out of Africa and cases are being reported in places as far away as Spain and Texas, the US. Healthcare workers who have been treating Ebola patients from West African countries, especially in Dallas where a Liberian US citizen named Thomas Duncan was treated and infected two of the nurses charged with taking care of him. This has led to panic and widespread fears in the US and other parts of the world on how Ebola, the killer virus, could start spreading far and wide. The US administration and opposition are at loggerheads over who is to blame, as if this is the time to play such games. It is being reported that the hospital where Mr Duncan was being treated did not take enough safety precautions to ensure that all protocols were met. Whatever the case, Ebola is spiralling out of control because it is a highly contagious disease, jumping hosts as soon as symptoms appear. Pakistan would do well to put all protocols in place to prevent the entry of Ebola into its borders. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Pakistan that the virus could easily spread in the country if adequate precautions are not taken. That is why the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination has put in place a plan for checks at all major airports to screen passengers coming from West Africa and Pakistani peace keeping troops deployed in African countries. This is all well and good but one does not have enough faith in our authorities to trust that they will prioritise the Ebola threat. The mess that has been made of polio is before us. Will we really enforce a stringent screening regime at our major hubs of air travel to ensure that the virus does not enter? If it does, one shudders to think how our shoddy healthcare system will deal with the toll. We must install travel bans on West African countries and make sure no visas are issued to travellers from there. Tragedy awaits if we do not take this threat seriously. *