TROPICAL MEDICINE UPDATES (ME BOTTAZZI AND R MEJIA, SECTION EDITORS) Changing Epidemiology, Treatment, and Vaccine Update on Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika Viruses Adekunle Sanyaolu 1 & Oladapo Ayodele 2 & Lorena Likaj 2 & Aleksandra Marinkovic 2 & Jennifer Locke 2 & Miriam Ahmed 2 & Odunayo Akanbi 2 & Verner Orish 3 & Chuku Okorie 4 & Olanrewaju Badaru 1 Published online: 8 May 2019 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 Abstract Purpose of Review Now more than ever, regions other than Africa and Asia, such as the USA, are being affected by the rising epidemic of vector-borne illnesses, specifically Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses; this has prompted this review aimed at discussing the changing epidemiology of the three diseases as well as the current treatment and vaccines in development to control the diseases. With the viruses being spread through a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, mosquito bites, fetal transmission, sexual contact, breast milk, and saliva, there is no doubt that more preventative measures are required. Recent Findings The changing epidemiology of the three viruses is already creating an impact, with the spread of Dengue in 2009 in Florida, to the 2013 spread of Chikungunya through the Caribbean, and now, the Zika virus making its mark on the tropics with major concerns of it spreading to the Western Hemisphere, including the USA. Although, they are all vector-borne illnesses, each carries its own clinical presentations that sometimes make it hard to diagnose. Collectively, there are no current vaccines or antiviral drugs against these three viruses, and with no sign of the spread slowing down, more geographic regions are in danger of being hit by these diseases in the near future. Summary As the evolving world for the three viruses continues due to changes in epidemiology, there is a dire need to develop vaccines for each of the three diseases that will target a variety of mechanisms to help fight the transmission and provide succor to affected communities. Public health preventive strategies need to be employed for proper actions to be take aimed at preventing viral transmission and ultimately, helping to fight this changing epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. Keywords Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) . Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) . Dengue fever (DF) . Dengue virus (DENV) . Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) . Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) . Zika virus (ZIKV) . Aedes albopictus . Aedes aegypti Introduction Vector-borne diseases have been on the rise in the past decade, and with no vaccines or appropriate antiviral medications cur- rently available, no region is left safe as the spread continuously grows, specifically, the Chikungunya, Dengue, and the Zika viruses. All three have similarities that show how one common vector can cause such massive destruction in communities, as well as in the population pool of international travelers. The mosquito Aedes aegypti is known to transmit the Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses, and with the development of these viruses, these mosquito vectors can con- tinuously spread disease, posing a severe threat to public health worldwide [1, 2]. Chikungunya is an arthropod-borne virus of the Togaviridae family transmitted via the Aedes mosquito [3]. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Africa is maintained in a syl- vatic cycle among animals, including wild primates, squirrels, birds, and rodents [4]. Those infected with the virus can often present with fever, rash, and severe polyarthralgia, which could possibly lead to a more chronic phase causing death especially in the elderly, neonates, and patients with This article is part of the Topical Collection on Tropical Medicine Updates * Adekunle Sanyaolu sanyakunle@gmail.com 1 Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria 2 Saint James School of Medicine, British West Indies, Anguilla 3 University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana 4 Essex County College, Newark, NJ, USA Current Tropical Medicine Reports (2019) 6:145–159 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-019-00181-2