Infodemic and epidemic crises

Last updated on 14 November 2025

Main points

The Working Group on Infodemic and Epidemic Crises was established in September 2024, initially in response to the resurgence of the mpox epidemic in the DRC and neighbouring countries, with a view to broadening its scope to other epidemic crises.

Its objectives are:

  • to analyse the mechanisms of dissemination and acceptance of health information,
  • to define strategies for monitoring and analysing information,
  • to develop and evaluate methods to counter misinformation and strengthen community mobilisation.

Working group activities

The WG’s originality lies in particular in its diversity:

  • the fields of expertise of its members (anthropology, sociology, psychology, public health, infectious diseases, epidemiology, communication sciences, journalism, patient and user representatives, etc. )
  • as well as in the countries represented (France, as well as countries with which the ANRS has partnerships: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon)

The first meetings of the WG, which aimed to share expertise in order to promote acculturation within the group, consisted of presentations of research work by experts from different disciplines. These presentations were followed by discussions that encouraged coordination of thinking on the infodemic and epidemic crises, with a view to designing an innovative and multidisciplinary research project.

Research prospects

These reflections led to the design of studies and the submission of research projects in response to calls for proposals from ANRS MIE

PADMEN: Propagation and Analysis of Discourse on Human Metapneumovirus in the Digital Ecosystem.

This socio-anthropological case study aims to explore how information about the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) respiratory virus is constructed and propagated within the digital public sphere in order to map the discourse and sources of influence of this information. This study was conducted in January and February 2025.

Further research opportunities are opening up for the Infodemic Working Group following the chikungunya vaccination campaign in Réunion, as well as within the framework of the 2025 call for projects from the PEPR MIE.

Working group members

The WG brings together around thirty experts from a range of disciplines: anthropology, sociology, psychology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, information and communication sciences, data sciences, and communication.
These experts come from a variety of institutions: higher education establishments and scientific research organisations (EHESS, University of Zurich, UCAD, INSERM, Institut Pasteur, IRD, CNRS, etc.), hospitals, health agencies (WHO, Santé Publique France, Expertise France, etc.) and NGOs in France and in low- and middle-income countries.
The geographical diversity of the WG is also noteworthy, with members in Europe (France and Overseas France, Switzerland) and Africa (Burkina Faso, Senegal, DRC, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Guinea).
These experts come from a variety of institutions: higher education establishments or scientific research organisations (EHESS, University of Zurich, UCAD, INSERM, Institut Pasteur, IRD, CNRS, etc.), hospitals, health agencies (WHO, Santé Publique France, Expertise France, etc.) and NGOs in France and in low- and middle-income countries.
The geographical diversity of the WG is also noteworthy, with members in Europe (France and overseas territories, Switzerland) and Africa (Burkina Faso, Senegal, DRC, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Guinea).