Preparedness plans will have to be revised in due time, after the many lessons learned have been gathered. This should be done quickly in case the worst is not yet over [45] . However, rewriting plans should best wait for WHO leadership if national plans are not to diverge. A strong argument exists for making future plans more flexible and having extra descriptions including the many aspects of severity when a pandemic is emerging that then determine the consequential public health actions [2] . Broadening surveillance for a range of influenza A viruses among a wide range of animals (e.g., swine), not just in avian species, as well as strengthening the monitoring of seasonal influenza virus infections in humans will facilitate identification of novel influenza A viruses of pandemic potential, and earlier detection of the emergence of a pandemic virus. More broadly we should look beyond influenza and draw up contingencies for the emergence or re-emergence of other novel and known pathogens [45] .