What Is Effective Preparedness for Emerging Respiratory Viruses? Shazia Irum, MSC, MBA, RN, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC, answers

Shazia Irum, MSC, MBA, RN, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC, a new member of Infection Control Today®’s (ICT®’s) Editorial Advisory Board, answers a quick question about emerging respiratory viruses.
Irum is also a Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc, Ambassador, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ICT: If you were advising hospital leadership or public health agencies today, what practical investments or policy changes would you recommend to better prepare for emerging respiratory viruses that may already be circulating under the radar?

Shazia Irum, MSc, MBA, RN, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC: From my perspective, effective preparedness for emerging respiratory viruses requires a deliberate transition from episodic emergency response to sustained, evidence-based system strengthening.

A critical priority is the investment in integrated surveillance infrastructures that link clinical syndromic data, laboratory diagnostics, genomic sequencing, and environmental surveillance, including wastewater monitoring. Such integrated platforms enhance the capacity to detect atypical transmission signals early, often before they manifest as increased health care utilization, thereby enabling timely, data-driven interventions.
Equally important is the strategic development of the health care workforce. Preparedness policies should mandate continuous competency-based training in infection prevention and control, respiratory pathogen management, and appropriate use of personal protective equipment.

These competencies must be reinforced through routine drills and simulation-based exercises embedded within standard operational planning, rather than activated solely during declared outbreaks. In parallel, workforce sustainability should be recognized as a core preparedness asset, as staff fatigue, burnout, and attrition significantly compromise surge response capabilities.

Targeted investments in health care infrastructure are also essential. Modernization of ventilation systems, expansion of adaptable isolation capacity, and deployment of rapid, scalable diagnostic technologies strengthen day-to-day clinical operations while providing critical flexibility during periods of emerging respiratory threats. These measures support both infection mitigation and continuity of care.

At the policy level, robust and standardized data-sharing frameworks between health care institutions, public health agencies, and international partners are indispensable. Early exchange of epidemiological and virological information facilitates coordinated risk assessment and response across jurisdictions.

Furthermore, strengthening risk communication policies grounded in scientific transparency is vital to maintaining public trust and adherence to preventive measures.

In my view, true preparedness is not defined by emergency plans alone, but by the integration of surveillance, workforce readiness, infrastructure resilience, and governance into routine health system function, ensuring adaptive capacity for respiratory viruses circulating below the threshold of immediate detection.