Using clinicians' search query data to monitor influenza epidemics

Mauricio Santillana; Elaine O Nsoesie; Sumiko R Mekaru; David Scales; John S Brownstein

doi:10.1093/cid/ciu647

Using clinicians' search query data to monitor influenza epidemics

Clin Infect Dis. 2014 Nov 15;59(10):1446-50. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu647. Epub 2014 Aug 12.

Authors

Mauricio Santillana¹, Elaine O Nsoesie², Sumiko R Mekaru³, David Scales⁴, John S Brownstein⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital.
² Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
³ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital.
⁴ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital Department of Internal Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Massachusetts.
⁵ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Abstract

Search query information from a clinician's database, UpToDate, is shown to predict influenza epidemics in the United States in a timely manner. Our results show that digital disease surveillance tools based on experts' databases may be able to provide an alternative, reliable, and stable signal for accurate predictions of influenza outbreaks.

Keywords: Internet-based disease surveillance; digital disease detection; prediction of influenza.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Databases, Factual*
Decision Support Techniques
Humans
Influenza, Human / epidemiology*
Internet
Physicians*
Population Surveillance* / methods
Reproducibility of Results

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding