The term “disease outbreak” means that more cases of a particular disease occur than expected for a community (which could be as small as a school or county or as large as the entire world). Vaccinations can significantly reduce the number of people who are exposed to germs and so help to prevent disease outbreaks.
Successful outbreak investigations contribute to our knowledge of infectious diseases by identifying new modes of transmission. For example, it was through outbreak investigation that E. coli O157:H7 infection was found to be transmitted via unpasteurized milk, swimming pools, lakes and municipal water, in addition to person-to-person contact.
Infectious diseases – such as Ebola, Marburg, cholera and SARS – spread through human-to-human contact, animal-to-human, or through the environment. They can be caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, lack of access to clean drinking water and food, environmental factors such as land-use change, urbanization and industrialized agricultural production, as well as natural events such as flooding or drought.
Despite these challenges, modern technology and advances in information sharing such as regional syndromic surveillance and rapid diagnostic methods have strengthened outbreak response capabilities. In particular, the development of cross-border multidisciplinary committees in 8 hot-spot disease transmission areas across the East African Community has led to improved collaboration and a stronger response. In the long run, prevention of outbreaks requires an integrated approach that brings together health and other relevant authorities as well as communities, families and individuals. This can be done by promoting vaccination, encouraging regular hand washing and covering sneezes and coughing, and by taking general preventive measures such as keeping animals indoors and avoiding eating raw meat and seafood.