It is difficult not to be frightened by the latest news about the spread of Ebola.
The World Health Organisation says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa could climb dramatically, with as many as 10,000 new cases a day by early December, and then continue to spiral. The virus threatens the survival of some societies and could lead to failed states, it says.
It is already the worst outbreak of the virus on record.
The WHO was officially notified about it in March, although it began in December 2013.
So far, 4447 people have died from 8914 reported cases, the majority in West Africa, but the figure is likely to be higher - the WHO puts the fatality rate at 70% - as many deaths may not be reported or officially recorded.
The outbreak started in forest areas in Guinea which, along with Liberia and Sierra Leone, has been hardest hit.
Nigeria and Senegal have also been affected but the outbreak has been relatively contained despite reaching larger cities.
Several infected people working in West Africa, mainly in healthcare, have been treated in Western countries.
Several have died, and others have recovered.
The viral haemorrhagic fever, for which there is no cure, causes vomiting, diarrhoea, a rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.
Because of the loss of fluids, patients become rapidly dehydrated and require prompt medical care to improve their chance of survival.
The virus is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids or secretions and, because of this, healthcare facilities are also best equipped to control the spread of the disease.
While it has an incubation period of two to 21 days, patients only become contagious once they start showing symptoms.
However, as they become sicker, they become highly contagious.
Experts believe the unprecedented scale of the outbreak is down to a combination of factors, which on their own might not have been so extreme: the large intermixing populations in the three hardest-hit countries meant it spread quickly to densely populated urban environments, inadequate health systems and staffing due to years of conflict, and - most critically - insufficient and slow containment efforts.
It is clear health systems in the three hardest-hit countries are stretched beyond breaking point, and there are reports of people being sent home, dying in the streets, and bodies being left there.
Security is an issue as populations become increasingly fearful, angry and desperate.
Local and national governments are unable to cope.
That fear is being transmitted to other countries.
The case of the Dallas, US, nurse who was infected after caring for an Ebola patient, who subsequently died, caused widespread alarm.
Many countries are implementing, contemplating or stepping up their border screening, and healthcare centres the world over are questioning their preparedness and procedures.
New Zealand is no different.
It is hard not to feel a sense of unease, but there are those cautioning against hysteria, and many questioning the cost and effectiveness of some of the border-screening procedures outside the affected regions (although there are those who are critical some are too lax).
The reality is the ease of air travel and interconnectedness does present risks.
As has been demonstrated, with all the will - and supposed best medical procedures - in the world, Ebola can still spread in the West.
Speed, vigilance, preparation and cohesion between agencies and countries are clearly required.
In the absence of them, hysteria will prevail.
And the spiralling death toll will only exacerbate that.
But it is clear the best chance all countries have of keeping their borders safe is by supporting containment efforts in West Africa.
While the WHO's predictions are frightening, the organisation says the scale of the outbreak can be reduced and ''the most critical determinant of outbreak size appears to be the speed of implementation of rigorous control measures''.
The WHO says this is an ''urgent wake-up call'' and nations must be involved in scaling up control measures in West Africa and also work towards ''rapid development and deployment of new medicines and vaccines''.
Speed is of the essence.
