Using Google to track flu spread?

Hey everyone: You should check this out!

If you're like me, in efforts to try and diagnose the reason you're sick or hurting, you turn to Web sites such as Google, Yahoo, WebMD or others. Who wants to go wait for hours for a doctor to see you when all they usually do is prescribe medicine you could've easily purchased when you were at the store earlier?

However, this is a problem for doctors and epidemiologists alike. If you don't go to the doctor, the local health departments can't keep tabs on a possible flu outbreak in your community.

So, how do researchers go about tracking flu spread with all the "diagnose-yourself" Web sites available?

They monitor your searches.

Here's the link to the direct New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

I never saw this coming! It's incredible how researchers begin to look at search engines to try and track diseases. I feel as if I should've seen this coming all along.

As a public health junkie, I see this is a great thing. Professionals can now track and and spot an outbreak many days faster than in the past. This, of course, can lead to much faster intervention and ultimately a smaller number of people infected. Or, at least that's the goal.

The flu is due for an extreme outbreak anytime, and I feel that being able to track even the people who won't, or can't, go to the doctor when they feel a little ill will definitely help us out.

If this can be done with the flu, then I hope this practices continues to spot trends in other diseases as well! What a good way to catch all the people who don't visit a doctor.

Doctors now track their hospital records for the number of people suffering from diseases, but how will that count the millions of people in the United States right now who don't have health insurance?

Even though I know using Google to track the flu might not be the most reliable way of gathering information, it's sure a start.

Yay for being able to track diseases without having to rely solely on hospital records!

What do you all think about it?

P.S. Just for my advice to everyone: Wash your hands frequently. It's the best way not to get the flu, or many other communicable diseases at that!