Google.org said it has begun using flu-related Internet search traffic in Mexico to create an online map that might provide clues to how influenza is spreading in that country.
The Internet giant’s philanthropic arm has been doing the same for the United States at its Google Flu Trends website since late 2008, but global spread of an influenza strain traced to Mexico prompted a longer reach.
Google.org launched Google Flu Trends after finding a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms.
It said that Google Flu Trends may be able to detect influenza outbreaks earlier than other systems because it estimates flu activity in near real time.
Inquiries from public health officials led Google to try using levels of searches on flu-related topics to make reliable, real-time estimates of actual cases of influenza in Mexican states, Ginsberg and Mohebbi wrote.
Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico is very experimental, but the system has detected increases in flu-related searches in Mexico City and a few other Mexican states in recent days, beginning early in the week of April 19-25.
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