The world is getting mixed messages about the gravity of the Ebola epidemic in four west African countries. The United Nations reported on Tuesday that the outbreak, by far the worst since the discovery of the virus in 1976, is spreading at an "almost exponential" rate. The accelerating pace of infections and deaths bear out the claim. The same day, the United States and other countries announced new efforts and spending to contain the disease. But theirs is a belated response and nowhere near what the UN is now calling for in light of the rising infection rate. The world is still one step behind – a dangerous place to be when it comes to infectious diseases.

The latest numbers are chilling. In the five-month span between March 1 and Aug. 28, the number of known cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea was 3,069, with 1,552 deaths, according to the UN. Since then – in the space of less than three weeks – there have been another 1,900 cases of infection, with more than 900 deaths. The disease is spreading more quickly than anyone predicted. "We don't really know where the numbers are going with this," said Bruce Aylward, an assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, which is the public-health arm of the UN.

President Barack Obama says the U.S. will send up to 3,000 military personnel to Liberia, the hardest-hit country. The troops will help build treatment centres and train medical workers. China has promised a mobile lab and the doctors and technicians to staff it. Canada will send $2.5-million in protective gear for health-care workers.

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But those responses, as worthy and needed as they are, are based on the needs outlined by the WHO in late August, before the virus's sudden surge. The WHO said then it would take $100-million to control the outbreak. It now says it will take $1-billion.

In that light, the international response is too little and too late. It should be one step ahead of the epidemic; instead, it's playing catch-up. Which is frustrating, because Ebola is relatively easy to contain. Unlike SARS, it's not airborne. Any outbreak in North America could be shut down immediately, thanks to our plentiful medical resources and expertise. If the world had been more alert and had sent timely help, the African countries struggling with the outbreak would arguably have it under control by now.

Instead, people are getting sick and dying more quickly than ever, and the help that is finally coming risks being inadequate. This has not been the international community's finest hour.