Google Offers a Flu Tracker Map

Google has found it can monitor search data such as “flu symptoms,” “fever,” “influenza,” as a way to determine the number of flu cases occurring in the United States. They are now offering an interactive map where users can click to see the number of outbreaks in a specific area, based on the searches collected, allowing for populations to be aware of possible flu outbreaks.

While the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) tracks flu cases, their data is usually two weeks behind. Google’s flu tracker, known as Flu Trends, shows the number of flu cases in almost real time with an interactive map of the U.S. that can be accessed at anytime, through the internet. Google’s Flu Trends Map appears to be the first to use search engines as a way to track diseases and possibly opening an avenue for other opportunities. The newly released flu tracker allows a user to view trends by state and can provide alerts as flu symptoms searches elevate to certain levels. The system also allows for downloads of historical and current flu trends

Google software engineers Jeremy Ginsberg and Matt Mohebbi, explained that the company compared their data gathered from queries entered into Google searches against the data that was provided by the U.S. CDC and discovered a very close relationship between the frequency of Google’s search queries and the number of flu cases per week, as reported by the CDC. Google’s product uses a selected grouping of words devised by their engineers that are related to the flu. A few of those are thermometer, flu symptoms, muscle aches, chest congestion and several others.

The CDC relies on data that is collected from thousands of health care providers, labs, emergency rooms and other sources which slow their reporting. According to some public health care experts, Google’s data could potentially speed up the response of doctors, hospitals and public health officials against flu season, and reduce the spread of the disease and even save lives. Many people don’t realize the mass affects of the flu each year, but there are approximately 36,000 early deaths annually attributed to the flu.

Symptoms of the flu according to the CDC include: high fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, diarrhea or vomiting.

Google’s Flu tracker is currently only available for tracking the flu in the U.S., but the company hopes to expand the tracking area eventually worldwide. The company points out that Flu Trends tracking is aggregated and can’t be traced to individual searchers.

Getting vaccinated is certainly the best way to ward off the Flu, but Google’s Flu Tracker can help Americans to be aware when the Flu is affecting their area. Google hopes users will take advantage of their new product and take precautions if the disease is in their area.