There is still time to get ahead of the next global pandemic

public health Under pressure. Defend health care Systems around the world, funding is declining, burned-out professionals are leaving the field, and in Legislative assemblies in the American states The necessary legal powers are withdrawn. At the same time, outbreaks of diseases such as measles and dengue fever are increasing, adding more urgency and responsibility to the work. In 2025, these pressures will transform epidemiology, pushing the field to adopt innovations to become more efficient and effective in controlling outbreaks.

Covid-19 pandemic This was an unusual challenge for the public health workforce, which mounted a historic response to the pandemic. The protracted crisis has exposed numerous gaps in the workforce under enormous pressure.

Unfortunately, the pandemic was not the first and will not be the last public health threat to overwhelm our defenses. Historically, major infectious disease threats have emerged approximately every two years on average. yet, Avian influenza A(H5N1) It has been expanding its geographic footprint and host species for years. Through some evaluations The world is now closer to an influenza pandemic Ever in recent memory.

Under these pressures, public health has no choice but to adapt. Although new technologies such as mRNA vaccine platforms and home tests are expanding our arsenal against outbreaks, we cannot rely solely on these biomedical countermeasures.

The most important untapped source of innovation lies in public health practice itself. A promising development emerging from these challenges is the adoption of higher reliability principles as a new operational standard. These principles are derived from industries that have zero tolerance for accidents and errors, such as space exploration and commercial aviation.

Public health, and especially epidemiology, has begun to reorient away from ad hoc methods of outbreak response toward the structured processes characteristic of high-reliability industries. A commitment to continuous improvement, monitoring performance based on data and metrics, and implementing standard operating procedures are hallmarks of high reliability. These practices enable organizations to maintain safety and effectiveness, even in complex, high-risk environments.

Although we are in the early days of this transformation, the pressures of the past five years will accelerate the adoption of high reliability in the coming year. Some early successes are already becoming apparent. For example, the program at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) responsible for responding to Outbreaks of foodborne diseases Made great strides. They have aggressively implemented whole genome sequencing to identify sources of outbreaks and have developed a set of model best practices to support state and local officials in their investigations. This shift has led to an increase in successful investigations, meaning that the sources of the outbreak are now more likely to be definitively identified. In contrast, before these changes, the origins of many outbreaks remained unresolved.

Epidemiology is at a critical juncture. In the face of declining resources, staff fatigue, and increasing disease outbreaks, the field is being pushed toward innovation. Adopting high reliability principles, borrowed from industries where failure is not an option, appears as a promising solution. This shift is already beginning to bear fruit, as is research into foodborne illness. By adopting structured, continually improving processes and cutting-edge technologies, public health will enhance its ability to identify and control disease outbreaks. This shift promises a more efficient and effective approach to protecting public health in the face of evolving threats.