Preparing for the next pandemic requires more than commitments

Two disease outbreaks in May this year have brought a troubling reality into focus. A rare virus aboard a cruise ship took 24 days from the first death to identify as Andes hantavirus, whereas the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo went undetected for months because appropriate diagnostic tests were unavailable. Although both are lethal, neither virus is likely to cause a global pandemic. Yet, both viruses serve as reminders that emerging infectious threats continue to test health systems and surveillance capacities.