Table 1 A selection of recent outbreaks*
From: Genomics and outbreak investigation: from sequence to consequence
Features | Disease or pathogen | When | Where | Scale | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Airborne, point source | Legionnaire's disease | July 2012 | Stoke on Trent, UK | <10 cases | Likely source a hot tub |
Airborne, propagated human-to-human | Measles | 2012 to now | South Wales, UK | >500 cases | Subsequent to poor take-up of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine |
Airborne, propagated human-to-human | Bordetella pertussis | 2011 to now | England and Wales, UK | >2,000 cases | Perhaps related to waning immunity in adults |
Airborne, propagated human-to-human | Bovine tuberculosis | 2006 | Birmingham, UK | <10 cases | Spread through social links, including nightclub |
Blood-borne | Hepatitis B | 2011 | Swansea, UK | ≥4 cases | Link between cases unclear |
Bloodstream infection, common source | Anthrax | 2009 to 2012 | Europe, including UK | 100s of cases | Thought be associated with contaminated batch of heroin |
Exposure to animal feces | E. coli O157 | September 2012 | Sutton Coldfield, UK | <10 cases | Contact between humans and animals in suburban park |
Food-borne, point source | Salmonella Newport | Early 2012 | England, UK | >35 cases | Linked to consumption of watermelon |
Hospital-acquired | Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Late 2011 to early 2012 | Northern Ireland, UK | 4 babies | Associated with contaminated hospital water supplies |
Waterborne | Cholera | 2010 to now | Haiti | Â | Occurred 10 months after powerful earthquake |
Waterborne | Cholera | 2008 to now | Zimbabwe | Â | Exacerbated by consequences of economic collapse, including poor water sanitation |
Zoonotic, animal-to-human spread | Influenza H7N9 | April 2013 | China | >11 cases | Virus type known to be circulating in birds |