Preface

Our current understanding of the microbial world and its role in human health has allowed microbiologists to determine the involvement of viruses in human health. Many diseases afflicting humankind are caused by viruses. As I write these words, for exactly two years month for month, the face of the entire world has turned completely inside out, affecting all aspects of our lives and our institutions due to a viral infection: the coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. From our social interactions to our professional routines that have completely changed, global trades and the world economy have all been so much disturbed that it is nearly impossible for any expert to say with certainty when our social interactions, professional lives, international trades, and the world economy will go back to "normal." Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the only certainty we have at this point is the uncertainty of tomorrow. While COVID-19 is an extreme case of viral infection, some more mild are silently disturbing the lives of many hundreds of thousands of people and families across the globe. It is the case of the chikungunya virus that causes chikungunya fever, which is endemic to tropical forested and subtropical areas of the globe. More recently, the virus has spilled over into temperate regions of the globe. Interestingly, despite the continual spread of the disease to new regions of the world where the disease was not observed or described before, chikungunya fever remains nevertheless unknown to not only the lay public but also and shockingly to even seasoned health professionals. The extreme difficulty for most people including health professionals, patients, and their families to tell chikungunya fever apart from some other viral infections such as dengue fever and Zika fever because of the extreme similarity of clinical symptoms exhibited between these three diseases prompted me to take on the challenge to serve as the academic editor of this book.

Hence, as I was invited to serve as the academic editor and started the work on this book, I had in mind four major audiences: health professionals, scientific investigators, patients, and the curious reader.

Health professionals, physicians and nurses alike, are at the forefront of the fight against chikungunya fever. Therefore, it is important to me to provide them with essential information necessary for a correct diagnosis of the disease at an early stage of onset. Misdiagnosis caused by the lack of education of health professionals even in endemic countries often leads to the unnecessary suffering of patients. Sometimes, unfortunately, the disease evolves into complicated forms. Thus, a major goal of mine was to keep health professionals informed about innovative tools and modern approaches currently available and/or in an advanced stage of investigation for them to unambiguously achieve a diagnosis of chikungunya fever in a timely manner when patients turn to them for care.

For young scientific investigators interested in studying the chikungunya virus, a book that covers broad aspects of the disease such as its history, epidemiology, spread and pathogenesis, and new perspectives in the pipeline for its prevention and treatment, represents a one-stop-shop for initiating and/or enriching a research topic on the disease. While there is currently no antiviral drug available to treat the

disease, young investigators will learn about new promising drugs currently in the pipeline. These promising drugs, some of which are already in clinical trials, may constitute a starting point for more advanced research on drug discovery to treat the chikungunya virus. Moreover, young researchers will learn about the work being done on the development of a vaccine and other sophisticated approaches actively under investigation to prevent the spread of the infection across the globe.

While working on this book, my thoughts went also to patients and families of patients. Patients and their families are the first victims of the disease. So, as chikungunya fever spreads around the world, educating patients, their families, and populations at risk of the disease and its impact on the quality of life of patients seemed important to me. Helping patients understand the nature of the infection and how their life may be affected in the short and/or long term is important for them and their families to know what to expect and with that knowledge, be prepared to seek adequate support to alleviate suffering.

For populations at risk of exposure to the chikungunya virus, the information contained in this book is valuable in that it will help them take appropriate measures to reduce the chances of infection.

The speed of globalization of exchanges, in the context of the 21st century, forces us to be curious about what is happening across the world, regardless of where we live and where we travel to. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives has taught us to be considerate of what is going on around the globe. Thus, it is more and more crucial to be curious and have a good idea about potential public health threats such as chikungunya fever. While going through this book, the curious reader will learn about the chikungunya virus, the public health threat it represents, and what is being done to counteract its spread and limit its chance of becoming a pandemic.

### **Jean Engohang-Ndong**

Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, Ohio, United States of America Section 1
