The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has killed nearly 3 million people after less than a year and a half of contagious spread. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 globalized so rapidly is crucial to preventing such large-scale pandemics in the future. While we cannot predict which virus strain will lead to the next outbreak, we should focus on better understanding known viral threats and attacking them with both specific and broad-spectrum anti-viral treatments before they spread globally. Countries like Brazil are in grave danger of spawning the next pandemic, with no less than six viruses (including dengue, noroviruses, the hantavirus, as well as the zika, mayaro, and oropouche viruses) deemed at risk for exponential growth, and factors such as deforestation opening not only Brazil but also the world to a slew of new viruses. In our work, we detail current and previous viral outbreaks and consider the factors responsible for the emergence, growth, and eradication of the viruses. In all, we demonstrate that although current approaches cannot forecast the exact time and place of an outbreak, the next outbreaks are unavoidable so we summarize the general recommendations on how to minimize their burden, discuss contributing factors to global spread, and strongly emphasize the importance of continued antiviral research.

Praemonitus, praemunitus: Expected new pandemics outbreaks and factors leading to them

ACS Fall 2021

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