PReViX: a project to anticipate the next respiratory viral pandemic
The scientific project PReViX ( Pandemic preparedness to Respiratory Virus X ), led by Mircea Sofonea, Senior Lecturer at the University of Montpellier, has been officially funded by the PEPR Emerging Infectious Diseases program, with the aim of providing a better response to future global health crises.
While the world is still struggling to learn all the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community is mobilizing to prevent the next major health threats. In France, the PReViX project is part of this dynamic. Coordinated by a national consortium of nine research units based at four sites (Montpellier, Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes), this major project aims to build a scientific and health response framework capable of detecting, modeling and anticipating the emergence of new respiratory viruses, as soon as they first emerge. It is based on WHO recommendations, which place "disease X" at the heart of its priorities, underlining the urgent need to be better prepared for a future pandemic caused by an as yet unknown pathogen.
A global alert and a major public health issue
In 2020, the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus plunged the world into one of the most serious health crises in its history. In France, as elsewhere, healthcare systems, governance structures and scientific facilities had to adapt in a hurry, revealing shortcomings and a lack of preparedness in the face of such a shock. Despite our best efforts, the succession of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the resurgence of viruses such as Mpox and avian influenza have demonstrated that pandemic risks remain omnipresent. It is against this backdrop that the WHO has updated its list of priority pathogens, which includes disease X, a symbol of these still invisible but very real threats.
The mission of the PReViX project is to respond concretely to this call, by developing research protocols and analytical tools that can be activated immediately on the first suspected cases. Through an interdisciplinary approach, it aims to provide public decision-makers and healthcare stakeholders with reliable, real-time analysis tools, enabling rapid, science-based decision-making. Epidemic forecasting, genomic surveillance, analysis of immune dynamics: everything is designed to speed up response to future respiratory threats, and so limit the health burden and the need for the most restrictive countermeasures.
A cutting-edge consortium for an integrated scientific response
The strength of the PReViX project lies in the richness of its consortium, bringing together complementary expertise in epidemiology, modeling, virology, infectiology, public health, genomics and human sciences. The project's six strategic axes cover the entire spectrum of scientific response: early assessment of pandemic potential, targeting of screening and vaccination policies, improvement of genomic analysis tools, epidemic forecasting based on antigenic data, design of early non-pharmaceutical interventions, and rapid adaptation of the healthcare system to pathogen characteristics.
This integrated approach will not only produce high-level scientific results, but will also sustainably strengthen France's capacity for anticipation and response. The project also aims to structure and perpetuate a French community of excellence in quantitative approaches to infectious diseases, while fostering the emergence of a new generation of researchers trained in these transdisciplinary issues.
Close collaboration between research, public health and policy-making
Working closely with Santé publique France, the Vaccine Research Institute, FHU TIE and several biomedical learned societies, PReViX aims to build a solid bridge between fundamental research and operational decisions. It will contribute to the production of concrete, up-to-date risk assessments, useful to health authorities in crisis situations. With its emphasis on co-construction, data transparency and responsiveness, the project is fully in line with a forward-looking public health approach.
More than a scientific project, PReViX is an operational framework for anticipating future health emergencies. By preparing France to face up to emerging respiratory threats, it plays an active part in building a more robust monitoring, alert and response system, in the service of everyone's health.