Although Ebola was identified in 1976, had been up to 90 percent fatal in previous outbreaks in rural Africa, and was viewed as a potential bioterrorist threat, experimental vaccines and treatments were in an early stage of development when the epidemic was recognized in early 2014. Public health surveillance systems throughout the world remained weak and underfunded. The World Health Organization, forced to decrease its budget during a global financial crisis, had cut its epidemic response units disproportionately.
