Definitely.
And I'd hesitate to call one better than the other because they're pretty different. "Outbreak" is silly popcorn fare, whereas "Contagion" is a more sober account.
I think both are flawed but interesting movies...
It's "Traffic" with germs. Enjoyable movie but not as good as it could/should have been. Agree that it would've worked better in a longer format - it just crams in too many characters/situations for many of them to work. The one with Marion Cotillard felt especially weak...