In contrast to the unusually early spike of flu activity we saw this October, Google Flu Trends is at present showing a low level of activity in the United States. Since the strain of influenza that is active (H1N1) is novel, no one knows accurately what will happen next. However, the CDC is warning that one option is a second spike of flu activity, which is what occured in 1957 when another novel strain of influenza spread in the United States.
Google has been chatting with public health officials about new ways that they can help people understand the spread of flu during this unusual time and today they are excited to bring city level flu estimates to 121 cities in the United States.
By tracking the reputation of certain Google search queries, Google was able to estimate the level of flu in near real-time. Google Flu Trends is updated daily and may offer early detection of flu activity, since traditional flu surveillance systems often take days or weeks to collect and release data. These city level estimates are "experimental," meaning they haven't been validated against official data. However, the estimates are made in a comparable manner to our U.S. national estimates, which have been validated. Check out our YouTube video for an immediate introduction to this system.
Google is pleased to be announcing this addition to Google Flu Trends during National Influenza Vaccination Week. If you're searching for a flu vaccine location near you, please visit the flu shot finder.
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