Table 1.
Soil pathogens that directly cause human infections and their pandemic potential.
| Disease | Causative agent | Pandemic potential |
|---|---|---|
| Plague (bubonic and pneumonic) | Yersinia pestis | High |
| Melioidosis | Burkholderia pseudomallei | Intermediate to High |
| Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis | Low to Intermediate |
| Tetanus | Clostridium tetani | Low |
| Botulism | Clostridium botulinum | Low |
| Listeriosis (gastrointestinal; meningitis) | Listeria monocytogenes | Low |
| Tularemia | Francisella tularensis | Low |
| Leprosy | Mycobacterium leprae | Low |
| Shigellosis | Shigella spp. | Low |
| Gastrointestinal disease | Salmonella enterica | Low |
| Gastrointestinal disease | Campylobacter spp. | Low |
| Gastrointestinal disease | Escherichia coli (esp. H0157:H7) | Low |
| Legionnaires' Disease | Legionella spp. | Low |
| Coccidioidomycosis | Coccidioides spp. | Low |
| Blastomycosis | Blastomyces dermatitidis | Low |
| Histoplasmosis | Histoplasma capsulatum | Low |
| Sporotrichosis | Sporothrix schenckii | Low |
| Meningitis | Exserohilum rostratum | Low |
| Multiple | Viruses (unknown; emerging) | Unknown |
Table 1: A summary of the organisms discussed in this review. Pandemic potential is a highly subjective rating based mostly on the ability of the organism to spread person to person via respiratory droplets. A low pandemic rating should not negate continued surveillance as these organisms have and can cause local outbreaks and regional epidemics.