Preface – ‘Small world, big data’

Good decision-making in disease control requires good evidence. There are few better examples than the current avian influenza epidemic or the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, more commonly known as SARS-CoV-2, pandemic to highlight the necessity for good data, sound analysis, insightful interpretation and careful forecasting in driving every aspect of response: field surveillance, whole genome sequencing, and spatial and temporal modelling have provided the basis for everything from movement restrictions and firebreak interventions through vaccine design and deployment to post-intervention monitoring. There is no doubt that the success of the response is intimately connected to the quality of the data on which both strategic and operational decisions are based.