With the simultaneous outbreak of the Irish Civil War conflict some thousands of their ex-servicemen and officers contributed to expanding the Free State government's newly formed National Army.

Surat might be dealing with simultaneous outbreaks of two diseases, Dr. Gubler said.

In the early 1990s there were simultaneous small-scale outbreaks of indie rock and metal.

There, simultaneous outbreaks of cholera, malaria and Rift Valley fever followed heavy rains and flooding.

But because there is a simultaneous outbreak of dysentery caused by shigella bacteria in Kikwit, Dr. Henderson said it was possible the captain had dysentery, not Ebola.

"Compressing the vaccination program into one month will create a near simultaneous outbreak of absenteeism in all the emergency rooms in the country," he said.

Nor was the number of simultaneous outbreaks of fire unprecedented.

However, the simultaneous outbreak of the Koliyivschyna in Ukraine (May 1768-June 1769) kept the Confederation alive.

Created in 1868 to accommodate the victims of the War of Independence and a simultaneous yellow-fever outbreak, the Santa Ifigenia includes many great historical figures among its 8000-plus tombs.

They also worry that simultaneous outbreaks of influenza and SARS, should it return this winter, could overwhelm the health care system.