Editing Epidemic (section)

==Preparation==
{{Update|part=section|date=September 2023|reason=Needing update to reflect changes in theory and practice since the COVID-19 pandemic}}
Preparations for an epidemic include having a disease surveillance system; the ability to quickly dispatch emergency workers, especially local-based emergency workers; and a legitimate way to guarantee the safety and health of health workers.<ref name=gerson>{{cite news | vauthors = Gerson M | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-next-epidemic/2015/03/26/aee9f344-d3e8-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html | title = The next epidemic | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = 26 March 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gates B | title = The next epidemic--lessons from Ebola | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 372 | issue = 15 | pages = 1381–4 | date = April 2015 | pmid = 25853741 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMp1502918 | author-link = Bill Gates | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Effective preparations for a response to a pandemic are multi-layered. The first layer is a disease surveillance system. [[Tanzania]], for example, runs a national lab that runs testing for 200 health sites and tracks the spread of infectious diseases. The next layer is the actual response to an emergency. According to U.S.-based columnist Michael Gerson in 2015, only the U.S. military and [[NATO]] have the global capability to respond to such an emergency.<ref name=gerson /> Still, despite the most extensive preparatory measures, a fast-spreading pandemic may easily exceed and overwhelm existing health-care resources.<ref name="ACAIM-WACEM COVID-19 Consensus Paper">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |vauthors=Stawicki SP, Jeanmonod R, Miller AC, Paladino L, Gaieski DF, Yaffee AQ, De Wulf A, Grover J, Papadimos TJ, Bloem C, Galwankar SC, Chauhan V, Firstenberg MS, Di Somma S, Jeanmonod D, Garg SM, Tucci V, Anderson HL, Fatimah L, Worlton TJ, Dubhashi SP, Glaze KS, Sinha S, Opara IN, Yellapu V, Kelkar D, El-Menyar A, Krishnan V, Venkataramanaiah S, Leyfman Y, Saoud Al Thani HA, Wb Nanayakkara P, Nanda S, Cioè-Peña E, Sardesai I, Chandra S, Munasinghe A, Dutta V, Dal Ponte ST, Izurieta R, Asensio JA, Garg M |year=2020 |title=The 2019-2020 Novel Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) Pandemic: A Joint American College of Academic International Medicine-World Academic Council of Emergency Medicine Multidisciplinary COVID-19 Working Group Consensus Paper |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340903626 |journal=Journal of Global Infectious Diseases |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=47–93 |doi=10.4103/jgid.jgid_86_20 |pmc=7384689 |pmid=32773996 |s2cid=218754925 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Consequently, early and aggressive mitigation efforts, aimed at the so-called "epidemic curve flattening" need to be taken.<ref name="ACAIM-WACEM COVID-19 Consensus Paper"/> Such measures usually consist on non-pharmacological interventions such as social/physical distancing, aggressive contact tracing, "stay-at-home" orders, as well as appropriate personal protective equipment (i.e., masks, gloves, and other physical barriers to spread).<ref name="ACAIM-WACEM COVID-19 Consensus Paper"/>

Moreover, India has taken significant strides in its efforts to prepare for future respiratory pandemics through the development of the National Pandemic Preparedness Plan for Respiratory Viruses using a multisectoral approach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=India gets "PRET" for future pandemics: a national consultation on developing the content framework for the National Pandemic Preparedness Plan for Respiratory Viruses |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/12-02-2024-india-gets-pret--for-future-pandemics-a-national-consultation-on-developing-the-content-framework-for-the-national-pandemic-preparedness-plan-for-respiratory-viruses |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref>

Preceding this national effort, a regional workshop on the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative was organized by WHO's South-East Asia Regional Office on October 12–13, 2023. Recognizing that the same capacities and capabilities can be leveraged and applied for groups of pathogens based on their mode of transmission, the workshop aimed to facilitate pandemic planning efficiency for countries in the region. The participating countries, in the aftermath of the workshop, outlined their immediate next steps and sought support from WHO and its partners to bolster regional preparedness against respiratory pathogen pandemics.<ref>{{Cite web |title="PRET" for future pandemics? Countries in WHO’s South-East Asia Region outline steps to update respiratory pandemic plans |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/photo-story/detail/PRET-for-respiratory-pandemics-countries-in-who-south-easta-asia-region-outline-steps-to-update-pandemic-plans |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref>