National Drill Tests Pandemic response Capabilities withโข Real-World Diagnostic Scenarios
South Korea’s โCenters for Disease Control andโ Prevention (KDCA) conducted a nationwide practical cooperation training exercise this month toโ evaluate and enhance the nation’s ability to respond to a novel infectious disease outbreak. The drill โsimulated the emergence โof an initial patient case and subsequent community spread, โfocusing on diagnostic testing and reportingโค procedures.
Thirty-threeโ institutions participated in theโ exercise, including theโค KDCA (including โits Jeju branch), the Ministryโ of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), City and Provincial Health and Surroundings Research Institutes (including support facilities), and four leading infectious disease hospitals: Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Korea University anam hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, and Severance Hospital.A diagnostic reagent emergency production agency wasโ also involved.Theโฃ training centered around the rapid deployment and utilization of diagnostic โreagents granted emergency use authorization by โthe MFDS following โคjoint evaluation by public โคand government experts.Participating inspection agencies received the reagents and performed actual diagnostic tests, promptly reporting results โto assess on-site response effectiveness and procedural efficiency.
A comprehensive review of the training results will occur on October 22,with participating institutions collaborating โto โidentify areasโข for betterment in the overallโ national response system.
This exercise builds upon previous KDCA training conducted in 2019 for the novel coronavirus and in 2024 for the Nipah โขvirus. Officials emphasized the โขimportance of this drill as a practical exercise utilizing actual reagents and testing protocols.
“Infectious disease diagnosticโ tests are the most significant early measures in a crisis,and the accuracy and speed of diagnosis is the core of the overall crisis response strategy,” stated Lim Seung-kwan,head of the KDCA.
Findings from the training will inform future system improvements and strengthen public-private cooperation in pandemic preparedness.