Veterinary medicine as the first line of defence against pandemic emergence

More than 60% of emerging infectious diseases originate in animals, yet veterinary medicine remains marginalised in pandemic preparedness planning, particularly in India. This review examines what the outbreak record reveals regarding veterinary surveillance, analyses why One Health integration has stalled in India, and proposes actionable institutional reforms. Early veterinary involvement consistently accelerated outbreak containment. India's ratio of one veterinarian per 7,000 livestock animals is the lowest among G20 nations; less than 3% of the national health budget reaches veterinary epidemiology; and Karnataka's forest-farm boundary a known Nipah-risk zone has no routine surveillance programme. Integrating veterinary epidemiology into India's pandemic architecture is both practically necessary and economically compelling. Concrete reforms with 2030 milestones are proposed, anchored in existing institutions.