thisismyurl.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/google-flu-trends-20081112.jpg" rel="lightbox[roadtrip]">Between 5% and 20% of Americans will catch the flu this winter. Influenza symptoms can include fever and come on quickly. The virus is highly contagious and spreads quickly but there’s a new player in the fight against this seasonal visitor. Google has just launched the Google Flu Trends (http://www.google.org/flutrends/) application to help map the flu as it spreads across America this winter.

Google.org, the company’s often ignored philanthropic unit believe that it may be able to detect outbursts of the flu and other diseases a full week or 10 days before they’re reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Google used search data to detect spikes in queries about flu symptoms almost two weeks prior to the CDC report. 

The new service, available at www.google.org/flutrends using the Google Trends engine to data mine the search data and create maps of the country which in theory will show where the flu is spreading. This information will help public heath officials and hospitals accelerate the response of medical professionals by alerting officials to flu outbreaks before traditional reporting systems are capable of correlating the data.

The flu results in about 36,000 deaths annually in the United States, with this new data the hope is that institutions will be able to put measures in place sooner by detecting the flu before it spreads to dangerous levels. Other web tools designed to track infections such as www.whoissick.org requires people to report their illness voluntarily and then displays the information on a map. The Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School use a tool called HealthMap which scours the web for blog entries and newsletters on the subject but access to Google’s search queries should prove to be the most valuable source of data on the subject.

In my opinion, this is a great example of how technology can be used to help mankind. 

While researching the new flu trends tool, I also found these websites contained a lot of useful information:

• Google Flu Trends launched:
  Google Flu Trends launched Search engine giant Google has launched yet another innovative web service. This latest service is named Google Flu.
• Google Flu Trends: A Glimpse into the Future of Google Health …:
  By making our flu estimates available each day, Google Flu Trends may provide an early-warning system for outbreaks of influenza.”
• Who?s Got The Flu? Google Flu Trends Reveal State-By-State Activity:
  Wondering if it’s just you or if others have the flu, too? 
   
• A Random Walk: Google Flu Trends:
• Google Flu Trends. Technology can help public health officials more quickly identify outbreaks of disease.