Mercola.com
Call Toll Free: 877-985-2695

Subscribe to The World's #1 Natural Health Website†
Hide this Hide this

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS
Import Email Addresses from almost any email service to invite your friends.
Invite Your Friends Invite Your Friends

BROWSE BY
TAGS

TRANSLATE THIS PAGE:
Arabic Translation Chinese Translation Dutch Translation French Translation German Translation
Korean Translation Japanese Translation Portugese Translation Russian Translation Spanish Translation

An Innovative Way to Track the Spread of the Flu

Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 14 2008 | 1337 views
Email to a friend
Email
There is a new common symptom of the flu, in addition to the usual aches, coughs, fevers and sore throats. Turns out a lot of ailing Americans enter phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines before they call their doctors.

That simple act, multiplied across millions of keyboards in homes around the country, has given rise to a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks, called Google Flu Trends.

Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The premise behind Google Flu Trends -- what appears to be a fruitful marriage of mob behavior and medicine -- has been validated by an unrelated study indicating that the data collected by Yahoo, Google’s main rival in Internet search, can also help with early detection of the flu.


Sources:

  The New York Times November 11, 2008
Republish this article
Email to a friend
Email

View Comments (10)

POST YOUR COMMENT

 

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

†The World's #1 Natural Health Website claim is based upon Alexa Natural Health Website rankings.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

†The World's #1 Natural Health Website claim is based upon Alexa Natural Health Website rankings.

If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.

© Copyright 1997-2012 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.