January 30th – World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day

Actions of ANRS MIE

Since 2021 and the Covid-19 crisis, ANRS MIE’s mission has been to combat emerging infectious diseases. It is responsible for supporting, coordinating and funding research in this field.

Responding to emergencies

Among the pathogens prioritised by its Emergence epidemic response system, it is closely monitoring the evolution of two NTDs targeted by the WHO roadmap: dengue and chikungunya.

These two arboviruses are among the most prevalent in the world (approximately 96 million cases per year for dengue and 693,000 cases for chikungunya). Originating mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, they also affect or have affected mainland France.

In January 2025, faced with an increase in the number of chikungunya cases in Réunion and then in mainland France from the summer of 2024 onwards, ANRS MIE set up a dedicated emergency unit. Through this unit, it coordinated exchanges between researchers and the medical community and monitored the latest scientific advances on the subject. The unit has been discontinued as of January 2026.

Funding research

ANRS MIE supports numerous fundamental and clinical research projects targeting dengue, chikungunya and leishmaniasis.

The LSDengue research project, which won the 2023 Priority Research Programme and Equipment for Emerging Infectious Diseases (PEPR MIE) award, led by ANRS MIE and funded as part of the France 2030 plan, aims to identify new determinants of severe dengue fever in order to optimise patient care.

The ARBOGEN project, funded by ANRS MIE and the MSDAVENIR endowment fund of the American pharmaceutical company MSD, aims to establish a trans-territorial network of public and private actors to collect dengue virus genomes. The objective? To increase knowledge about the genomic diversity of the virus and, ultimately, to identify new therapeutic targets.

ANRS MIE is also involved in the DENGAGE study, funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the NGO SCDI, which is collecting data on the seroprevalence of dengue in Vietnam.

Winner of the ANRS MIE’s ‘Émergences PRFI’ call for projects, the DENGAFRICA project, linking the University of Bordeaux and the Pasteur Institute in Bangui in the Central African Republic, is also involved in the surveillance and management of dengue cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Finally, also funded by ANRS MIE as part of its ‘Émergences PRFI’ call for projects, the LEISHNEW project is studying the possibility of a new single-dose intralesional treatment for human cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Participating in international coordination

As a reference in France and Europe on emerging infectious diseases, ANRS MIE plays a key role in numerous international networks focusing on NTDs.

ANRS MIE is heavily involved in the direction and operationalisation of Global Health EDCTP3, a public-private partnership launched in 2003 between European and sub-Saharan African countries to conduct clinical trials. Several research projects resulting from this partnership are directly co-funded by ANRS MIE, particularly those concerning opportunistic infections in people living with HIV.

ANRS MIE is also one of nine international coordination centres for the STRIVE network (Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections and Viral Emergencies). Created in 2023, this network links more than 300 clinical trials conducted in 40 countries around the world. The whole network is managed by a highly specialised statistics and data management centre based at the University of Minnesota in the United States. Its objective? To rely on high-quality methodological therapeutic clinical trials, quickly and efficiently, in response to infectious emergencies, particularly in countries affected by MTNs.

In addition, created in 2019 under the former REACTing consortium (whose work has been continued by ANRS MIE since 2021), the Arbo–France network coordinates the circulation of information and data on arboviruses. It also participates in the development of research programmes, in conjunction with Santé publique France and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), particularly in overseas territories.

In addition, ANRS MIE maintains constant links with Inserm’s Immunology, Inflammation, Infectiology and Microbiology (I3M) Thematic Institute, which hosts the Francophone Network on NTDs. The network aims to bring together French and French–speaking institutions working in this field, promote research support from public and private actors, and develop collaborative research programmes.