Google: Finding Flus Fast?

Google Flu Trends is a new system set up by Google through its Google.org philanthropy site that tracks American's search queries related to the flu. Apparently, Americans turn to Google before turning to their PCP when trying to decide what their symptoms mean. Now, Google has started to look at this data in the aggregate with Google Flu Trends:

There is a new common symptom of the flu, in addition to the usual aches, coughs, fevers and sore throats. Turns out a lot of ailing Americans enter phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines before they call their doctors.

That simple act, multiplied across millions of keyboards in homes around the country, has given rise to a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks, called Google Flu Trends.

Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In early February, for example, the C.D.C. reported that the flu cases had recently spiked in the mid-Atlantic states. But Google says its search data show a spike in queries about flu symptoms two weeks before that report was released. Its new service at google.org/flutrends analyzes those searches as they come in, creating graphs and maps of the country that, ideally, will show where the flu is spreading.

The C.D.C. reports are slower because they rely on data collected and compiled from thousands of health care providers, labs and other sources. Some public health experts say the Google data could help accelerate the response of doctors, hospitals and public health officials to a nasty flu season, reducing the spread of the disease and, potentially, saving lives.

Seems like a smart idea. I wonder if Google will apply this to other diseases as well. Going beyond infectious diseases, what if Google were to track search queries related to other potential 'trends' like teen pregnancy? Should raise some interesting questions about how to utilize this technology for public health issues while respecting the privacy of Google users.