Search Engines as Early Warning Epidemic Monitors

Google has come up with an innovative use of the Internet and health information. The NY Times recently noted:

One of Google’s geniuses figured out that whenever people get sick, they use Google to search for more information. By collating these searches, Google has created an early-warning system for flu outbreaks in your area, with color-coded graphs. Google says that Flu Trends has recognized outbreaks two weeks sooner than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has.

As Google aptly stated, this is an exciting development, because early detection of a disease outbreak can reduce the number of people affected. Google also published a paper on the research behind their Flu Trends in an article in Nature entitled Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data.