The constant media coverage of new and emerging risks—such as avian influenza and SARS—has heightened the public’s perception of these risks, sometimes to a degree that is out of proportion with their actual epidemiological reality. In this context, and in order to implement public policies, INPES and InVS have just published the first survey on attitudes toward infectious risks and methods of prevention. This study, titled the “Nicolle Survey”—named after the bacteriologist Charles Nicolle—was conducted among the general public and private practitioners.