Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have created a digital database of infectious-disease cases dating back 125 years, a treasure trove of information that could help scientists and public health officials better understand how to fight the spread of deadly afflictions.

The searchable database, outlined in the Thursday issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

To construct it, researchers compiled weekly disease surveillance reports published between 1888 and 2013 — about 6,500 tables — as well as data from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The database tracks when and where people got sick, as well as how many died from their illnesses.