Research Guides: ENVS 360: Research in Env. Health Geography: Disease Outbreaks & News

Recent Disease Outbreaks

2019, COVID
The novel coronavirus COVID-19 (aka 2019-nCoV) outbreak epicenter was in the city of Wuhan, China’s Hubei province. As of January 2022, 10 million new cases were added every week and rates continues to grow skyrocket with 350 million cumulative cases.
2019, Measles Outbreak
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. Before the vaccine was available in the 1960s 3-4 million cases occurred annually. With consistent widespread childhood vaccination, this figure fell to 13 cases per million by the 1980s, and 1 case per million by the year 2000, at which time the U.S. was declared free of circulating measles.
2019, Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Each year between 50 and 528 million people are infected and approximately 10,000 to 20,000 die.
2018, 2013-16 Ebola Virus
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates that affects the liver and kidneys. Some people bleed both internally and externally, and the disease has a high risk of death (roughly 50%). This is often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss, and typically follows 6 to 16 days after symptoms appear.
2017, Cholera
Cholera is a bacterial infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and causes large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days and may lead to severe dehydration.
2016, Hepatitus
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue most commonly caused by Hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E. Since outbreaks were first identified in 2016 in the U.S., 32 states have publicly reported 30,525 cases.
2016, Zika Virus
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae, and is related to dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis spread by mosquitoes. The illness cannot be prevented by medications or vaccines.
2014, 1994 Bubonic Plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by bacterium Yersinia pestis: Bubonic, Septicemic, and Pneumonic. It is an infection of the lymphatic system, usually resulting from the bite of an infected flea.
2013, Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Bird flu is similar to swine flu, dog flu, horse flu and human flu in that the illness is caused by strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host, but has adapt and can be transfer to different species.
2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). An outbreak of SARS in China (2002) lead to 8,098 SARS cases, and killed 774 individuals in 17 countries. The fatality rate for SARS was 9.6% according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The last case of SARS was reported in 2003.
1996, Mad Cow Disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease)
Mad Cow Disease is a fatal degenerative brain disorder of memory problems, behavioral changes, poor coordination, and visual disturbances. Later symptoms include dementia, involuntary movements, blindness, weakness, and coma.

Newspaper Source (EBSCO)

Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 national (U.S.) and international newspapers, including Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Times (London), Toronto Star, etc. In addition, full-text television & radio news transcripts are provided from CBS News, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, NPR, etc. It also contains selective full text for more than 370 regional (U.S.) newspapers.

Oregonian (Newspaper)

The Oregonian is the largest newspaper in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest by circulation. Access full text articles without images 1861-present. It serves as the main newspaper of record for the state of Oregon.

ENVS 360: Research in Env. Health Geography: Disease Outbreaks & News

Recent Disease Outbreaks

Newspaper Source (EBSCO)

Oregonian (Newspaper)

COVID Updates (CDC)

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