BACKGROUND Noroviruses (NoVs) are the most frequent cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide among people of all ages and the leading cause of gastrointestinal disease outbreaks in various settings. To clarify the differences in epidemic situations among different settings, we investigated epidemiological trends and the distribution of NoV genotypes in Yokohama, Japan. METHODS Between Septemb...

Between December 1999 and December 2000, teams from the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Calcutta, India, examined eight outbreaks of cholera, which occurred in different parts of the country distant from each other. In two of these outbreaks each, only V. cholerae O1 biotype ElTor or V. cholerae O139 could be isolated, while in the remaining four outbreaks, both O1 and O139 ...

Co-circulation of influenza A(H5N1) and seasonal influenza viruses among humans and animals could lead to co-infections, reassortment, and emergence of novel viruses with pandemic potential. We assessed the timing of subtype H5N1 outbreaks among poultry, human H5N1 cases, and human seasonal influenza in 8 countries that reported 97% of all human H5N1 cases and 90% of all poultry H5N1 outbreaks....

BACKGROUNDS Influenza can spread rapidly in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), and residents are usually at higher risk for influenza infections. OBJECTIVE Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of antiviral interventions on outbreak control. METHODS Taiwan Centers for Disease Control used a syndromic surveillance system to monitor outbreaks in LTCFs. Local public health authorities ...

To learn how outbreaks of infectious disease are detected and to describe the entities and information systems that together function to identify outbreaks in the U.S., the authors drew on multiple sources of information to create a description of existing surveillance systems and how they interact to detect outbreaks. The results of this analysis were summarized in a system diagram. The author...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Diarrhoeal disease outbreaks are causes of major public health emergencies in India. We carried out investigation of two cholera outbreaks, for identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phage typing and molecular characterization of isolated Vibrio cholerae O1, and to suggest prevention and control measures. METHODS A total of 22 rectal swabs and 20 stool sa...

OBJECTIVES In Korea, every outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in two or more patients who are epidemiologically related is investigated by local public health centres to determine causative agents and control the outbreak with the support of the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings and conclusions of each outbreak investigation have been summarized annually since 2007 ...

BACKGROUND Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks have been associated with periods of widespread and above-normal rainfall over several months. Knowledge on the environmental factors influencing disease transmission dynamics has provided the basis for developing models to predict RVF outbreaks in Africa. From 2008 to 2011, South Africa experienced the worst wave of RVF outbreaks in almost 40 years....

Mass gatherings create environments conducive to the transmission of infectious diseases. Thousands of mass gatherings are held annually in the United States; however, information on the frequency and characteristics of respiratory disease outbreaks and on the use of nonpharmaceutical interventions at these gatherings is scarce. We administered an online assessment to the 50 state health depart...