[Horizon scanning in preparation for future health threats: a pilot exercise conducted by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance in 2014].

Background: Health surveillance is a reactive process, with no real hindsight for dealing with signals and alerts. It may fail to detect more radical changes with a major medium-term or long-term impact on public health. To increase proactivity, the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance has opted for a prospective monitoring approach.

Current Zika virus epidemiology and recent epidemics.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus (Aedes), similar to other arboviruses, first identified in Uganda in 1947. Few human cases were reported until 2007, when a Zika outbreak occurred in Yap, Micronesia, even though ZIKV activity had been reported in Africa and in Asia through virological surveillance and entomological studies. French Polynesia has recorded a large outbreak since October 2013.

The influenza A(H5N1) epidemic at six and a half years: 500 notified human cases and more to come.

Since November 2003, the epidemic intelligence team at the French Institut de Veille Sanitaire has been gathering data on influenza A(H5N1) circulation in poultry and on human cases worldwide. As Indonesia notifies the world's 500th case to the World Health Organization, we discuss the epidemiological situation and trends of A(H5N1) influenza. Although the overall number of cases reported worldwide has decreased, influenza A(H5N1) continues to circulate intensely in some countries and more cases are to be expected, especially in Egypt and Indonesia.

Retrospective analysis of the cholera cases imported to France from 1973 to 2005.

Background: The manners of traveling and travelers' vulnerability to infection are changing: increasing numbers of travelers, travels at the extreme ages of life, "backpacker" tourism in close contact with local populations. What is the epidemiologic situation and what are the trends of imported cholera to Metropolitan France?

Method: A descriptive retrospective study was undertaken on all the confirmed cases of cholera imported to France, and notified from January 1, 1973, to December 31, 2005, using compulsory notification data from local health departments and information from the National Reference Centre.

Results: A total of 129 imported cases of cholera were notified between 1973 and 2005 (3.