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AI outbreak tools need more than technical accuracy, experts at a WHO forum say

Study title: Leveraging AI for infectious disease modelling and public health decision making

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding the capacity of public health systems to detect infectious disease signals, forecast outbreaks, analyse pathogen evolution, generate localised risk estimates, and support operational decisions. The thirteenth session of the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Innovation Forum brought together experts from academic, public health, and technology organisations to examine current applications of AI in infectious disease modelling and pandemic preparedness.

Read the study abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding the capacity of public health systems to detect infectious disease signals, forecast outbreaks, analyse pathogen evolution, generate localised risk estimates, and support operational decisions. The thirteenth session of the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Innovation Forum brought together experts from academic, public health, and technology organisations to examine current applications of AI in infectious disease modelling and pandemic preparedness. Examples inclu…

Truvace record1 min read1 sourceEvidence: Emerging · 30/100 — Commentary, opinion, or narrative review · 1 independent sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1177 · cite or check it
Leveraging AI for infectious disease modelling and public health decision making
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In brief

Examples included genomic surveillance, hybrid epidemiological and machine-learning models, spatial foundation models, AI-enabled decision support, and agent-based simulations for resource allocation. Sustained interdisciplinary collaboration, human oversight, thorough validation, and equitable design will be essential to embed AI safely and effectively within public health decision-making.

Main points

  1. The thirteenth session of the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Innovation Forum brought together experts from academic, public health, and technology organisations to examine current applications of AI in infectious disease modelling and pandemic preparedness.
  2. Examples included genomic surveillance, hybrid epidemiological and machine-learning models, spatial foundation models, AI-enabled decision support, and agent-based simulations for resource allocation.
  3. Participants emphasised that technical performance alone is insufficient: tools must be transparent, auditable, transferable across settings, operationally usable, and responsive to local data and infrastructure constraints.

The gain

AI is expanding public health systems' capacity to detect disease signals, forecast outbreaks, and support operational decisions.

The full story

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding the capacity of public health systems to detect infectious disease signals, forecast outbreaks, analyse pathogen evolution, generate localised risk estimates, and support operational decisions. The thirteenth session of the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Innovation Forum brought together experts from academic, public health, and technology organisations to examine current applications of AI in infectious disease modelling and pandemic preparedness.

Examples included genomic surveillance, hybrid epidemiological and machine-learning models, spatial foundation models, AI-enabled decision support, and agent-based simulations for resource allocation. Participants emphasised that technical performance alone is insufficient: tools must be transparent, auditable, transferable across settings, operationally usable, and responsive to local data and infrastructure constraints.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedBMC Proceedings2026-09-21

The debate