Health experts in Western countries insist that the odds of contracting Ebola are remote and that many other scourges, such as traffic deaths, accidental shootings and suicides, pose a much bigger danger to the public.
But fear is irrational and with international news channels giving unprecedented importance to suspected cases of Ebola in Western countries, the public expects to be informed on how prepared our country is to deal with this scourge, if it ever hits Malta.
Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne gave detailed information in Parliament on how the government is making contingency plans to deal with Ebola cases, if and when these appear.
The Opposition joined the special monitoring committee set up by the government to define plans for dealing with a possible Ebola outbreak. Most stakeholders have been included in this exercise and guidelines are being issued to healthcare professionals as well as to civil protection personnel, police officers and members of the armed forces.
While it is important for the public not to panic at the prospect of this terrible disease affecting Malta, there are some very pertinent questions that need to be asked to ensure the health authorities avoid some of the mistakes committed by other countries that have already been affected by isolated cases of Ebola.
Perhaps one of the most relevant questions that need to be asked is whether the use of Mater Dei Hospital, the Gozo Hospital or any of the health centres is the ideal place to treat suspected Ebola cases.
Opposition health spokesman Claudio Grech made a very sensible recommendation when he said the government should consider having an isolation/infectious diseases unit which is separate from Mater Dei . Anyone who has been to the main State hospital or one of our busy health centres knows how crowded these places usually are with patients and their relatives.
The health authorities must, therefore, consider the feasibility of identifying a suitable place that is as far away from heavily populated areas as possible where to set up a temporary isolation unit with adequate medical facilities to treat suspected Ebola patients.
The preparation of medical and paramedical staff to deal with a possible Ebola outbreak is another top priority.
Administrative measures to alert incoming visitors about the importance of notifying the health authorities if they have recently travelled to any African country affected by Ebola are important. The risk of someone ignoring such notices will always exist. Anyone travelling from affected African countries may prefer not to reveal this fact to avoid being kept in quarantine for 21 days.
Ultimately, though, the authorities must constantly inform and educate the public about this deadly disease as well as address the misconceptions.
Like other dangerous diseases, the reactions, especially in the Western world, have been marked by unnecessary panic and intolerance. There have been instances of schools, parents, even TV programmes responding to fears, rather than to real outbreaks.
Unfortunately, the dissemination of false online reports persists. Many have picked up bogus information and proceeded to share it with others.
We cannot descend to the ludicrous measures taken by Australia, which became the first developed country to shut its borders to citizens of countries hit by the Western African Ebola outbreak, a move that in effect stigmatizes healthy people and which would actually make it harder to fight the disease.
The health authorities need to manage both the politics of fear as much as the medical aspects of Ebola.