It’s never convenient for society to protect itself from dangerous diseases. Just ask air travelers flying into one of five large U.S. airports from West Africa. For the next little while, every one of them will have his or her temperature taken, and even those without fevers will be asked to provide contact information and to take their temperature daily.

But if the Ebola outbreak in Africa seems hopeless, it is important to remember that medical science can, and often does, perform wonders, even in Africa.

That was part of the message Namala Mkopi delivered recently when he met with the Deseret News editorial board. Mkopi is head of pediatric hematology in the Oncology Unit of Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

He doesn’t deal with Ebola patients, but up until a year or so ago he dealt with more than his share of dying children. He described what the children’s ward was like. “You’re talking three children in every bed and on mattresses on the floor. So, it’s full, and many of them end up dead.”