Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. governments top infectious disease specialist, warned in early 2017 that a surprise outbreak would occur during the Trump administration , and he said that more needed to be done to prepare for a pandemic.

There is no question that there will be a challenge to the coming administration in the arena of infectious diseases, he said in a speech titled Pandemic Preparedness in the Next Administration at Georgetown University Medical Center. He delivered it just days before Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017.

Fauci, who has overseen the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, warned that looming health challenges would involve both chronic diseases ones already ongoing as well as a surprise outbreak.