Giuseppe
Emeritus
Google Flu Trends includes 14 European countries (Eurosurveillance, edited)
Eurosurveillance, Volume 14, Issue 40, 08 October 2009
News
Google Flu Trends includes 14 European countries
Eurosurveillance editorial team 1
1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
Citation style for this article: Eurosurveillance editorial team. Google Flu Trends includes 14 European countries . Euro Surveill. 2009;14(40)
ii=19352. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19352
Date of submission: 08 October 2009
Google Flu Trends, a tool that estimates the level of influenza activity in near real-time using aggregated search queries, has been released for 14 countries in Europe on 8 October 2009 by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google [1].
In total Google Flu Trends covers information for 20 countries worldwide and it is available in 37 languages. It aims to complement traditional influenza surveillance systems used by the public health community such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control?s (ECDC) European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN). For 12 of the 14 European countries, Google developed models to track influenza using historical influenza data, provided in the public domain by EISN. For two countries the models are ?experimental?, meaning there was not enough historic data for the validation process described in the scientific publication where Google Flu Trends used influenza-like illness (ILI) data provided by the United States? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s (CDC) Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network [2].
Google Flu Trends is a complementary tool to traditional surveillance systems which offer more specific and detailed information regarding influenza in a population. Traditional systems take time to collect, validate and release data, while Google search queries can be counted immediately and trends can be updated daily.
Google Flu Trends aims to be a supplementary tool in the surveillance of influenza that can provide additional information both for public health officials and the public when taking informed decisions about preparing for the influenza season.
References
1. Google.org Flu Trends [homepage on the internet]. [accessed on 8 October 2009]. Available from: http://www.google.org/flutrends/
2. Ginsberg J, Mohebbi MH, Patel RS, Brammer L, Smolinski MS, Brilliant L. Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature. 2009;457(7232):1012-4. Available from: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7232/full/nature07634.html
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<cite cite="http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19352">Eurosurveillance - View Article</cite>News
Google Flu Trends includes 14 European countries
Eurosurveillance editorial team 1
1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
Citation style for this article: Eurosurveillance editorial team. Google Flu Trends includes 14 European countries . Euro Surveill. 2009;14(40)
ii=19352. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19352Date of submission: 08 October 2009
Google Flu Trends, a tool that estimates the level of influenza activity in near real-time using aggregated search queries, has been released for 14 countries in Europe on 8 October 2009 by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google [1].
In total Google Flu Trends covers information for 20 countries worldwide and it is available in 37 languages. It aims to complement traditional influenza surveillance systems used by the public health community such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control?s (ECDC) European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN). For 12 of the 14 European countries, Google developed models to track influenza using historical influenza data, provided in the public domain by EISN. For two countries the models are ?experimental?, meaning there was not enough historic data for the validation process described in the scientific publication where Google Flu Trends used influenza-like illness (ILI) data provided by the United States? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s (CDC) Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network [2].
Google Flu Trends is a complementary tool to traditional surveillance systems which offer more specific and detailed information regarding influenza in a population. Traditional systems take time to collect, validate and release data, while Google search queries can be counted immediately and trends can be updated daily.
Google Flu Trends aims to be a supplementary tool in the surveillance of influenza that can provide additional information both for public health officials and the public when taking informed decisions about preparing for the influenza season.
References
1. Google.org Flu Trends [homepage on the internet]. [accessed on 8 October 2009]. Available from: http://www.google.org/flutrends/
2. Ginsberg J, Mohebbi MH, Patel RS, Brammer L, Smolinski MS, Brilliant L. Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature. 2009;457(7232):1012-4. Available from: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7232/full/nature07634.html
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