Andhra Pradesh to run health emergency drills from August 18

The Andhra Pradesh health department will start a series of simulation exercises from August 18 to test the state's ability to handle public health emergencies. Commissioner K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu said the drills will assess the entire response system, from disease detection to containment, unlike routine mock drills that only check specific staff actions, according to The Hindu.

The New Indian Express reports that the exercises, described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, will be held across five districts. The first drill, on leptospirosis, will be in Machilipatnam on August 18-19, followed by a bird flu exercise in Bhimavaram on August 20-21. Future phases will target dengue in Visakhapatnam, scrub typhus in Vizianagaram, and cholera in Guntur, the outlets said.

The drills follow a 'One Health' framework, bringing together officials from health, animal husbandry, food safety, agriculture, and municipal departments. The goal, both sources agree, is to spot gaps in surveillance, logistics, and inter-departmental coordination before a real crisis hits. The New Indian Express noted that the state aims for zero response lag in actual emergencies.