Whether you’re nervous about a possible pandemic or just want to stay informed, some Google Maps mashups are making it easy to track the worldwide spread of swine influenza.
My favorite, put together by Pittsburgh biomedical researcher Henry Niman, pinpoints the location of every case around the world, with colored markers denoting whether swine flu was suspected, confirmed or tested negative. Clicking on a marker brings up a short description of the case and the date of infection. When the marker has no dot in the center, it means the victim has died.
It’s a pretty easy way to get frightened.
Other maps are out there as well. The 2009 Swine Flu Outbreak Map offers a similar level of information but as a collaborative document, lending itself to more frequent updates. Meanwhile, the Guardian has posted a database of cases, encouraging readers to create their own mash-ups and visualizations.
When the world was dealing with H5N1 avian flu a few years back, Google Earth was the tool of choice, with Nature reporter Declan Butler putting together one notable example. In 2007, Google introduced My Maps, allowing for easier map creation through simple pointing and clicking. This has no doubt caused the migration of flu tracking from Google Earth to Google Maps. And it’s happening quickly, just days after swine flu hit the public spotlight.
Of course, if you’d prefer not to worry, the Internet is also full of perspective.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
i wonder what is homeland security take on this , that is if they are keeping theireyes on the ball
http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2009/04/keeping-our-eyes-on-ball.html
April 27th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
It’s certainly convenient that we can now track exactly where the swine flu has hit. This has to be pure bliss for those scientists, doctors and world health researchers who have to follow the epidemic and try to stop it in its path. For the rest of us, it is a helpful tool to know what’s going on with the flu and who it has hit the worst. Obviously, Mexico has experienced the worst of this swine ordeal so far, but that does not mean it could not easily spread over the border. Thus, it’s beyond important for us to pay attention.
Also, since the recent World Health Organization’s official declaration of a national health emergency, stocks have been down and bankers have been (even more) stressed out. I watched an interesting video on all of this at newsy.com earlier today. The video summarizes recent panic surrounding the swine influenza situation and provides a few different perspectives:
http://www.newsy.com/videos/the_world_on_swine_flu_alert/
April 27th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Senator Snowe (R) Maine had pandemic flu money cut out of the stimulus bill. Now we have some real pork to deal with. ;-)
April 28th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I came across this website:
http://www.swine-flu-info.co.nz
which seems to have some good, non hysteria inducing information on swine flu relivant to New Zealand..
July 14th, 2009 at 2:28 am
the use of face masks and boosting your immune system by taking lots of vitamin-C is still an effective way of preventing the spread of the Swine Flu virus.
July 17th, 2009 at 8:37 am
i always advice my kids to wear face masks when going into crowded areas. swine flu is really scary and i dont want my kids getting infected by it.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Lady Gaga is da bomb. Poker Face and Starstruck are so cool to listen.