While much of the world focuses on major military conflicts that continue to claim thousands of lives, the United States has launched air strikes on the ISIS militant group in Iraq, to avert what they describe as a potential massacre of Christians and other minorities hiding in mountains to escape death from a brutal regime.

It is a new dark chapter in that country in the midst of a power struggle between various factions, after America pulled troops out, following the Iraqi war. The Middle East remains a deeply troubled spot as the militant Hamas group, and Israel, are locked in a dispute, with little sign that a solution from years of turmoil will end soon.

As if those situations were not bad enough, Russian forces have massed on the border to Ukraine, which has created enormous concern that another explosive military encounter could be on the cards. As the world watches and waits, an even greater threat to life in the form of the deadly Ebola virus, has placed parts of Africa off limits for travel.

The virus which has no known cure, has already claimed over a thousand victims, including health workers, in parts of west Africa.

Two American doctors are recovering in the United States, after falling victim to Ebola, while treating others.

As a last resort, the two doctors were given an experimental drug, never used on humans, and while they continue to recover, there is much to learn about the drug itself.

So far, according to medical experts, the virus has not mutated to a point where it can travel through the air. At the moment it is transmitted by physical contact involving bodily fluids, from a person terribly ill.

Survival is extremely slim, even though there have been people who have recovered.

With air travel, and the fact that the virus could incubate itself for hours undetected, some airlines have halted flights to parts of west Africa, including British Airways.

The World Health Organization has issued a worldwide alert, with frantic attempts to halt any further spread in thickly populated areas where many are not fully aware of how the disease spreads, and this causes a major concern among health workers in trying to contain and hopefully eradicate the threat.

As people criss-cross the globe by air on a daily basis, the potential for someone with the virus to enter another country is high.

Officials around the world are working around the clock to establish procedures to handle such an eventuality, and in a small place like Bermuda, our health officials are undoubtedly watching developments quite closely. Although there is no need to panic, nothing should be taken for granted. Ebola may be thousands of miles away, but it only takes one person on a flight with the virus to create danger for others.

Perhaps this would be a good time to alert Bermudians as we do during the flu season, that Ebola may not be an immediate threat to the western world, but any virus with no known cure, and a high fatality rate, is a potential danger to the world.

In an effort to assist workers already coping with a dangerous health situation, a number of experts are heading to the region to help in preventing an outburst that would be nothing short of catastrophic. It is dangerous work because physical contact, even accidental, could prove fatal. In a move to contain the disease, officials have put a halt to people leaving certain areas with the army operating at various checkpoints.

It is going to be a long tedious task with risk for all involved, but it is crucial that the virus is prevented from impacting the rest of the world in a way not seen since days of plagues that took millions of lives.

Hopefully it is not too late to contain and eradicate the problem.

Meanwhile inhabitants of this planet can only watch and hope, that solutions will be found between hostile nations, and that Ebola will be stopped before something unimaginable occurs.