Prevention and preparation for large-scale outbreak situations are having a serious price tag, but by neglecting the outcome of risk assessments do have disastrous consequences that turn crisis situations into a worldwide disaster. Read what happens when doctors and nurses are doomed to treat highly infectious patients without any Personal Protection Equipment, no amount of vaccinations and new drugs would be able to prevent the escalating disaster. Read about what the international president of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) Dr Joanne Liu explains that the world is 'losing the battle' as cases and deaths continue to surge. As one of the leading health experts she urges military teams to be sent to west Africa immediately if there is to be any hope of controlling the Ebola epidemic. During a meeting with the United Nations on Tuesday, doctors working on the frontline of the outbreaks painted a stark picture of health workers dying, explaining that patients left without care and infectious bodies lying in the streets. Although alarm bells had been ringing for six months, the response had been too little, too late.