Ebola, cholera and Chikungunya: health risks of the past, the present and the future

It is highly probable that in the decades ahead, epidemics will spread faster because of increased and accelerated social and geographical mobility. This was the case with the most recent pandemics. The fact that “national” epidemics become cross-border epidemics and sometimes move from the “epidemic” stage to the “pandemic” alert stage, or even become “public health emergencies of international concern” (PHEICs), with major economic and security-related impacts, shows that health issues should be an integral part of geopolitical analysis.