Preparation for the Next Potential Pandemic: Chikungunya, Dengue, Zika and Other Viruses

Pandemics have claimed millions of lives over the centuries and millennia. The bubonic plague, smallpox, cholera, and, more recently, the Spanish flu, devastated the world, causing enormous impacts on the population. With the advancement of medical knowledge, especially in infectious diseases and microbiology, it may appear that the importance of pandemics and the damage caused by them will be much less concerning in the future. However, the 2009-10 swine flu and, even more so, the COVID-19 pandemics served as wake-up calls, pointing out that even with advances in medicine, some aspects of our modern lifestyles, such as urbanization, massive sports events, or concerts, with tens of thousands of people concentrating in small areas, large indoor malls, and travel habits, may actually increase the likelihood of future pandemics, lowering the effects of the advances we have made in epidemiology. Newly emerging or mutating variants of previously known microorganisms may continue to present potential for further pandemics. This Special Issue focuses on such viruses, including chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and others with pandemic potential. We encourage discussing public health, epidemiological, pharmaceutical, immunological, and other measures that might help to avoid or at least mitigate future pandemics, to prevent the loss of lives and decrease the economic burden.