Google Maps Tracks Swine Flu Trends

Google has launched Google Flu Trends, a new online tool that uses data from search-engine queries to estimate flu activity in a specific area at a faster pace than traditional flu surveillance systems.  Click here to track the recent Swine Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. 

The web site includes graphs and a map that describe the intensity of flu outbreaks throughout the United States. According to Google, there appears to be a close connection between how many people enter flu-related search terms and how many people are currently sick with the flu. The company acknowledges that not everyone who searches for "flu" is actually sick but says that it sees a pattern when all Google flu queries from each state and region are added together. The company uses IP addresses to determine the location of the computers from which the search queries are submitted.


Traditional surveillance systems take between one and two weeks to collect and release data, while online search queries can be automatically calculated more quickly. Google says it hopes that releasing its data will provide early warning of flu outbreaks.