Table 1.
Properties collected for statistical analysis.
| Name (variable type) | Description | |
| Domain: population | ||
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Population (continuous) | Population of affected location as a continuous variable |
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Population (categorical) | Population of affected location. Discretized into groups based on orders of magnitude |
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Disease status (binary) | Endemicity status (ie, endemic or nonendemic to the region) during the time of the outbreak |
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Rural versus urban (binary) | Binary categorization of the relative population density of the outbreak’s location |
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Age stratification (categorical) | Relevant age categories or median age of reported cases. (Varies by disease; groupings are identified using published literature) |
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Special population group (binary) | Binary (yes or no) indicator describing if the outbreak occurred in the general population or a particular group with a specific common exposure or risk factor |
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Vaccination status (categorical) | Vaccine coverage (%) of the country and/or region of interest |
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Population movement (binary) | Indication of whether or not large-scale population movement (eg, mass migration and influx of a refugee population) was an influential component of the outbreak |
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Sex (continuous) | Fraction of cases in males (identified using the literature) |
| Domain: location | ||
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Climate (categorical) | Climate type corresponding to the location of interest, represented as the first letter of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification key (A, B, C, D, and E) [27,28] |
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Season (categorical) | Time of year (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter) during which the majority of the outbreak occurred |
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Precipitation (categorical) | Precipitation category corresponding to the location of interest, represented as the second letter in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification (f, m, w, s, W, S, T, and F) |
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Rainy versus dry (binary) | Binary indicator describing the typical weather patterns (ie, rainy or dry) in the location at the start of the outbreak |
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Natural disaster (binary) | Binary indicator describing if a natural disaster appeared to be associated with the onset of the outbreak |
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|
Human Development Index (HDI; categorical or continuous) | HDI in the location and year of interest [29]. Both categorical and continuous values were tested. In the event that both properties were significantly related to outcomes, categorical values were preferred because of they are more usable within the user interface. |
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Physician density (continuous) | Physician density per 1000 persons in the year of interest, or the most recent year reported [30] |
| Domain: disease | ||
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Pathogen source (categorical) | Main source of exposure to the pathogen of interest |
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Outbreak curve (categorical) | Type of outbreak as reflected in the outbreak curve shape (point source, common source, and propagated outbreak) |
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Vector type (categorical) | The most relevant genus/species/classification of the disease vector |
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Case fatality rate (CFR; continuous) | Percent of fatal cases |
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Attack rate (continuous) | Number of new cases per 1000 persons |
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Case definition (categorical) | Classification of reported cases (suspected, probable, confirmed, or any combination thereof) |
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Disease presentation classification (categorical) | Description of clinical disease presentation (eg, bubonic plague and pneumonic plague) |
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Animal contact (binary or categorical) | Reported contact with potentially infectious animal (used for zoonotic diseases). Can be binary (yes or no) or categorical (ie, contact with particular animal), depending on the level of data available in literature |
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Contamination source (categorical) | Product or site epidemiologically linked to the outbreak (used for foodborne illnesses) |
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Transmission mode (categorical) | Mode of transmission that best characterizes the majority of disease spread during the outbreak (eg, airborne and direct contact) |
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Outbreak source proximity (categorical) | Geographic proximity of cases to a known or likely source of contamination |
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Outbreak pathogen (categorical) | Etiological agent |