“Google Flu Trends” takes on the CDC
An article in PC Magazine looks at Google Flu Trends, which uses patterns in Google search queries to explore flu trends across the US.
Explore flu trends across the US using Google Flu Trends
According to Google.org (the “hybrid philanthropy” arm of the search giant): “Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems.” Tradition flu surveillance systems meaning the CDC. Interestingly enough, an early version of Google Flu Trends was used to share results each week with the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the Influenza Division at CDC. “Across each of the nine surveillance regions of the United States, we were able to accurately estimate current flu levels one to two weeks faster than published CDC reports.” So it’s not competition so much as information sharing. And to their credit, there’s a link to the CDC website and a ‘flu shot locator’ on the Google Flu Trends homepage.