PLOS Glob Public Health January 2023 PMID 36962988

The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: A retrospective database.

Colin J Carlson, Matthew R Boyce, Margaret Dunne, Ellie Graeden, Jessica Lin, Yasser Omar Abdellatif, Max A Palys, Munir Pavez, Alexandra L Phelan, Rebecca Katz

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The discussions highlight significant historical outbreaks, with mentions of influenza, cholera, and Ebola, showing genuine curiosity about health trends over the years. Phrases like 'calls for standardized reporting methods' and observations of surveillance inconsistencies illustrate a mix of concern and engagement with the implications of the data. The overall tone reflects both appreciation for the research effort and a critical awareness of its limitations.

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Many discussions express a general support for the publication's insights, although some critique the current gaps in reporting.

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There is a noticeable eagerness to engage with the findings and historical trends presented in the research.

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Some detailed discussions touch on the methodologies and broader health implications, but many posts are more informative than analytical.

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While the publication is viewed as informative, its perceived effect on public health priorities is moderate.

Abstract in brief

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses Disease Outbreak News (DON) to inform about outbreaks and the decision-making process behind information sharing during public health emergencies.
The study compiles 2,789 DON reports from January 1996 to December 2019, highlighting trends in global health threats, such as influenza, cholera, and notable epidemics like Ebola and MERS-CoV.
While the data shows important historical contexts and public health dynamics, inconsistencies in reporting, such as disease names and case numbers, limit its retrospective value; improvements in reporting standards are suggested for better utility.

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WHO Disease Outbreak News: A Historical Database Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses Disease Outbreak News (DON) to inform about outbreaks and the decision-making process during public health emergencies. This study analyzes 2,789 DON reports, highlighting trends…

Medicine RTCL TV · Jun 25, 2023 56 views

arXiv cs.AI Artificial Intelligence

@csai-bot.bsky.social · Bluesky

Sergio Consoli, et al.: An Epidemiological Knowledge Graph extracted from the World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02258 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.02258 https://arxiv.org/html/2509.02258

Sep 3, 2025 View post →

medRxivpreprint

@medrxivpreprint.bsky.social · Bluesky

Reporting trends and seasonality in the World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News (DONs) across 1996-2023 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.17.25329744v1

Jun 18, 2025 View post →

Climate, Ecology, War & More by Dr. Glen Barry, BigEarthData.ai

@bigearthdata.bsky.social · Bluesky

An epidemiological knowledge graph extracted from the World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News ->Nature | #Health #Disease | More info from EcoSearch

Jun 10, 2025 View post →

Juan Ramón Salgueiro

@JuanR_Salgueiro · X

@amvtw De paso un informe que estudia las dos últimas décadas de alertas por pandemias. Lo gracioso es que muchos negacionistas usan ahora esas alertas para justificar que la "élite" ya lo sabía. https://t.co/GZkJst5a7o

Mar 2, 2024 · 1,007 followers View post →

Phage Papers

@Phage_Papers · X

The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: A retrospective database https://t.co/fGHNiQDNAj

Mar 25, 2023 · 647 followers View post →

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Andrew Adams

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The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database | PLOS Global Public Health https://t.co/cFk3piqVqn

Mar 2, 2023 · 301 followers View post →

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Scott Gottlieb, MD

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Mar 2, 2023 · 94 likes · 30 shares · 539,620 followers View post →

Equity & Health

@equitylist · X

The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database | PLOS Global Public Health https://t.co/0q9yl4yHdI

Feb 6, 2023 · 1 like · 28,900 followers View post →

Zada

@zaddles · X

#PLOSGlobalPublicHealth: The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database https://t.co/DSGH39Wxv9

Feb 5, 2023 · 159 followers View post →

WorldDengueDay

@WorldDengueDay · X

RT @Vaccinologist: Researchers collected 2,789 #disease #outbreak reports from 1996. #Influenza was the most reported #infectiousdisease. O…

Feb 3, 2023 · 3 shares · 2,414 followers View post →

Arief Wijaya, MSc MPh

@AriefWi48645487 · X

RT @Vaccinologist: Researchers collected 2,789 #disease #outbreak reports from 1996. #Influenza was the most reported #infectiousdisease. O…

Feb 3, 2023 · 3 shares · 306 followers View post →

Dr. Andrea Adler (She/Her)

@AndreaAdlerPhD · X

RT @Vaccinologist: Researchers collected 2,789 #disease #outbreak reports from 1996. #Influenza was the most reported #infectiousdisease. O…

Feb 3, 2023 · 3 shares · 729 followers View post →

Dr Melvin Sanicas

@Vaccinologist · X

Feb 3, 2023 · 4 likes · 3 shares · 35,492 followers View post →

Diego Alvarez

@Diego_Alvarez18 · X

RT @CEPIvaccines: #Flu, #MERS + #Ebola top the list of reported disease outbreaks (1996-2019). But inconsistent surveillance and health sys…

Jan 31, 2023 · 1 share · 693 followers View post →

CEPI

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Jan 31, 2023 · 2 likes · 1 share · 44,108 followers View post →

Daya G.✨

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RT @wormmaps: In 2003, the World Health Organization wrote down some reasons not to worry about future outbreaks of SARS. Every single one…

Jan 30, 2023 · 11 shares · 4,154 followers View post →

Daya G.✨

@4evrstardancer · X

RT @georgetown_ghss: When our team analyzed the WHO Disease Outbreak News between 1996 and 2019, we found that some threats have persisted…

Jan 30, 2023 · 2 shares · 4,154 followers View post →

Daya G.✨

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Andy_Weeble_Weaver

@AndrewW66619812 · X

The paper in "PLOS Global Public Health" the above "Nature" article is based upon, cites, and links to: “The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database” (via "Nature Briefing") https://t.co/JvlMnN281c

Jan 30, 2023 · 4,316 followers View post →

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The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database https://t.co/oynNRIBIRv

Jan 30, 2023 · 1 like · 2,323 followers View post →

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RT @wormmaps: In 2003, the World Health Organization wrote down some reasons not to worry about future outbreaks of SARS. Every single one…

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Genocide by any other name still smells as horror

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Prepare for disasters NOW #DAT ⛑️ ℹ

@Monicadisaster1 · X

RT @wormmaps: In 2003, the World Health Organization wrote down some reasons not to worry about future outbreaks of SARS. Every single one…

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RT @wormmaps: In 2003, the World Health Organization wrote down some reasons not to worry about future outbreaks of SARS. Every single one…

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Global Health Observ

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The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database | PLOS Global Public Health https://t.co/ldv7drfGRP

Jan 25, 2023 · 2 likes · 2 shares · 6,539 followers View post →

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@Touseef963 · X

The world health organization’s disease outbreak news: A retrospective database https://t.co/Sw4u6ikhZJ

Jan 25, 2023 · 2 likes · 501 followers View post →

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Lucia Ruggiero EALR

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RT @GlobalPHObserv: The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: a retrospective database | medRxiv https://t.co/tkRAltJwhc

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Equity & Health

@equitylist · X

RT @GlobalPHObserv: The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: a retrospective database | medRxiv https://t.co/tkRAltJwhc

Mar 25, 2022 · 4 shares · 28,900 followers View post →

Global Health Observ

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The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: a retrospective database | medRxiv https://t.co/tkRAltJwhc

Mar 25, 2022 · 3 likes · 4 shares · 6,539 followers View post →

Outbreak Science

@outbreaksci · X

New: The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: a retrospective database https://t.co/M9ASMMc006 read/write/request review https://t.co/RnurTL3DyM #Ebola #Zika #chikungunya #cholera #influenza #polio #COVID19

Mar 25, 2022 · 1,376 followers View post →

medRxiv

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The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: a retrospective database https://t.co/1BLVGMiW77 #medRxiv

Mar 23, 2022 · 17,463 followers View post →

The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News: A retrospective database.

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WHO Disease Outbreak News: A Historical Database Overview