3 steps India should take now to be better prepared for future epidemic outbreaks

India has a huge population of about 1.3 billion people. Furthermore, India has still not been able to provide all the basic necessities like housing, food and proper sanitation facilities to a large proportion of that population. There are a few challenges that India is facing right now due to its massive population that can make it easy for the transmission of infection among people:

• It is easy for the disease to spread between humans in congested areas
• People get in contact with a lot of others in public areas like markets or public transport
• Authorities are unable to trace the suspected infection carrying people, once the it moves into Stage 3 of the pandemic
• Poor housing which makes it difficult to implement preventive measures
• People indulging more in the wildlife or previously untouched ecosystem for a variety of factors

Since we know where we are lagging behind, the following things could help us deal with these things better in the future: 

• Urban planning must be done for people in every strata of society, keeping necessary changes in mind, in order to be ready for an upcoming epidemic. Urban planners are the ones who make plans and developmental regulations, keeping in mind the social, economic, environmental, and constructive aspects to make a place healthier to live, work and get around.
• Develop public transport facilities in such a way that the transport networks could be used in the time of need to provide supplies to the outbreak epicentres
• Use of advanced technology for effective contact tracing

COVID-19 is one of the diseases that has spread from an animal (bat) to humans. We have never acknowledged the importance of proper human-animal interface which has given birth to many zoonotic diseases like bird flu, swine flu and even the Ebola Virus Disease in the past.

There are a few difficulties that India is facing right now in the animal industry which promote an easy transmission of infection amongst people:

• Poor sanitation in the animal husbandry.
• No measures taken for the control of rodents and other animal vectors like mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.
• The live domestic and wild animal markets are one of the sources for the spread of disease among people. 
• Close contact of the animals that are raised in backyard farms or industrial agricultural facilities.

Now that we know where we are lagging behind, the following things could help us deal with these things better in the future: 

• There is an urgent need to improve sanitation and disease control in places that deal with animal husbandry. This should include cleaning and disinfecting all the animal shelters on a regular basis, isolating diseased animals and treating them with complete protection, proper vaccination and deworming programmes and managing the spread of external parasites. 
• Better rodent control to prevent the spread of diseases around humans and animal communities.
• People who own pets should vaccinate them to prevent the spread of common zoonotic infections like bird flu and anthrax.
• Proper hygiene at slaughterhouses is equally important in order to prevent contact with animal blood.
• Concerned authorities should frequently check on the live domestic and wild animals that are being sold commercially in the local markets. The animals should be tested for the presence of any disease before being sold.

Apart from COVID-19, many other contagious and deadly diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and swine flu have originated in different countries but spread rapidly in India. The high connectivity amongst two urban areas promote an easy transmission of infection amongst people:

• Any disease is likely to spread during the import of various things such as heavy machinery, oil or organic chemicals from other countries. No screening of people is done during these importation events. 
• Even after the spread of the disease, trading and movement is not restricted which spreads the disease at a faster rate. 

In order to deal with this problem, the Department of Commerce in India needs to take strict actions to prevent the spread of diseases from other countries into India. The following measures can help in preventing the spread of the disease:

• Proper exit and entry screening practices should be implemented among travellers to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in our country. Exit screening measures should also be applied in the affected areas. 
• Screening on the entry points should include taking the required medical samples, taking all the required information and data about the person for future contact tracing, providing vaccination (if necessary) and quarantining the suspects to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
• Proper medical screening should be done during importation events at points of entry.
• Once the disease spreads to a particular country, travelling and trading should be stopped until the situation comes under control. An epidemiological investigation team should be deployed to get to the root of the situation.