Will there be a new pandemic?

With the current knowledge about influenza viruses in humans and animals, as well as the mechanisms that underlie the emergence of new pandemic viruses, it is reasonable to expect that also in the future influenza pandemics will emerge. However the unprecedented increase of our understanding of processes that determine the emergence of influenza viruses with pandemic potential, as well as the unprecedented development of societal and medical intervention strategies, collectively provide us with the tools to more efficiently combat these events in the future. Whether these tools will indeed be used adequately and universally, which means not exclusively in countries with strong economies, is a political and ethical issue that deserves more attention in the future.