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Research article
Developing an Online Infectious Disease Outbreak Database: Codifying the World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News reports
Rebecca Katz
Corresponding Author
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: The World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News (DONs) reports are the world’s primary source of official information on global disease outbreaks. Access to this information is crucial for informing research analyses, global health priorities, and decision making. However, in its current form, the utility of the DONs reports for research and analysis is limited as a result of their reporting format. To this end, we designed a standardized methodology for codifying the data contained in DONs reports and created an online, searchable database.
Methods: We coded DONs reports published between the years 1996 and 2019, systematically collecting data from each individual report using a standardized methodology and tabulating data into a single spreadsheet. We created a Year-Pathogen-Country taxonomy to group related disease events and circumvent issues related to reporting inconsistencies in DONs reports.
Results: In total, we reviewed 2,806 DONs reports corresponding to 1,105 unique infectious disease outbreaks from 1996-2019. Overall, H5N1 represented the most frequently reported disease, while China was the country with the most reports. We observed the DONs reports to contain numerous issues relating to the standardization, accuracy, and transparency of reporting procedures.
Conclusions: Our database represents a new, accessible resource for research that improves the accessibility of the data contained in DONs reports. The World Health Organization should consider standardizing reporting practices, protocols, and procedures as a means of improving the reporting and transparency of infectious disease outbreaks.
Trial Registration: N/A
Keywords
Database, Global Health, Infectious Disease, Reporting, Surveillance System, World Health Organization
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Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 15 Jun, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Reject after review
On 13 Jan, 2021
Review #3 received
Received 03 Jan, 2021
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 22 Dec, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 16 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 26 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 24 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 22 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 09 Oct, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Jun, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 12 Jun, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Jun, 2020
First submitted
On 03 Jun, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Developing an Online Infectious Disease Outbreak Database: Codifying the World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News reports
Rebecca Katz
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 15 Jun, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Reject after review
On 13 Jan, 2021
Review #3 received
Received 03 Jan, 2021
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 22 Dec, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 16 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 26 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 24 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 22 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 09 Oct, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Jun, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 12 Jun, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Jun, 2020
First submitted
On 03 Jun, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: The World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News (DONs) reports are the world’s primary source of official information on global disease outbreaks. Access to this information is crucial for informing research analyses, global health priorities, and decision making. However, in its current form, the utility of the DONs reports for research and analysis is limited as a result of their reporting format. To this end, we designed a standardized methodology for codifying the data contained in DONs reports and created an online, searchable database.
Methods: We coded DONs reports published between the years 1996 and 2019, systematically collecting data from each individual report using a standardized methodology and tabulating data into a single spreadsheet. We created a Year-Pathogen-Country taxonomy to group related disease events and circumvent issues related to reporting inconsistencies in DONs reports.
Results: In total, we reviewed 2,806 DONs reports corresponding to 1,105 unique infectious disease outbreaks from 1996-2019. Overall, H5N1 represented the most frequently reported disease, while China was the country with the most reports. We observed the DONs reports to contain numerous issues relating to the standardization, accuracy, and transparency of reporting procedures.
Conclusions: Our database represents a new, accessible resource for research that improves the accessibility of the data contained in DONs reports. The World Health Organization should consider standardizing reporting practices, protocols, and procedures as a means of improving the reporting and transparency of infectious disease outbreaks.
Trial Registration: N/A
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4