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Google Can Predict the Flu

Posted by kdawson on from the sees-you-when-you're-sleeping dept.

An anonymous reader mentions Google Flu Trends, a newly unveiled initiative of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm. The claim is that this Web service, which aggregates search data to track outbreaks of influenza, can spot disease trends up to 2 weeks before Centers for Disease Control data can. The NYTimes writeup begins: "What if Google knew before anyone else that a fast-spreading flu outbreak was putting you at heightened risk of getting sick? And what if it could alert you, your doctor and your local public health officials before the muscle aches and chills kicked in? That, in essence, is the promise of Google Flu Trends, a new Web tool ... unveiled on Tuesday, right at the start of flu season in the US. Google Flu Trends is based on the simple idea that people who are feeling sick will tend to turn to the Web for information, typing things like 'flu symptoms; or 'muscle aches' into Google. The service tracks such queries and charts their ebb and flow, broken down by regions and states."

4 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Great. by mpoulton · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you've received a flu shot in the past 6 years the only thing you got was a chance at a bad immune reaction and a concoction of mercury, detergent and some other nasty compounds.

    That's blatantly untrue. The flu strain predictions have been fairly good in the last few years, with the exception of 2003-2004 when it was only marginally protective for one of the more common strains. Even that year, it was largely protective for most strains. Get your damn flu shot and protect the rest of us. For reference:
    wikipedia

    --
    I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
  2. Re:Great. by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Informative

    Umm...

    You're TOTALLY wrong. WHO-recommended flu vaccines are very effective. See here for an example: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/06vol32/acs-07/index.html

    And: "...the only thing you got was a chance at a bad immune reaction and a concoction of mercury, detergent and some other nasty compounds..." is just a stock anti-vaccination quackery.

  3. Re:Damn by Azkedar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, if you RTFA, you'll see that Google's method applied to the past four years very closely mathches trend data collected by physicians in coordination with the CDC. The proof is in the pudding.

  4. Re:So? by justinlee37 · · Score: 5, Informative

    You obviously haven't heard much about The 1918 Flu Pandemic