Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figuzre 6.5
The balloon shows the initial reports from La Gloria, Veracruz. The markers represent locations
where there have been unofficial reports about suspected or confirmed cases of novel influenza
A (H1N1) (not the individual cases themselves) as well as other reports of influenza and other
respiratory illness. Darker markers indicate increased recent report volume. (From http://
www.healthmap.org. Clark Freifield and John Brownstein. 8/21/2009. With permission.)
local-level information in local languages (Brownstein, Freifeld, and Madoff
2009).
In addition to being among the first organizations to pick up Spanish-
language reports of novel influenza A (H1N1), HealthMap used social net-
working tools to disseminate information regarding the rapid development
of the outbreak. Twitter (http://twitter.com), for example, provides a real-time
messaging service that allows people to follow the sources most relevant to
them and to access information as it is posted. HealthMap utilized Twitter as
a tool to inform HealthMap “followers” of news updates and alerts regard-
ing the outbreak as they occurred. In addition to Twitter, HealthMap relayed
messages to Facebook (http://facebook.com) “fans” regarding the outbreak's
developments. A special version of the HealthMap main page was also cre-
ated, which showed only the worldwide reports of “swine flu,” influenza,
and respiratory illness, as opposed to all infectious disease alerts.
Finally, HealthMap partnered with the New England Journal of Medicine's
H1N1 Influenza Center to create an interactive map (http://healthmap.org/
nejm/) showing worldwide cases of novel influenza A (H1N1) as reported
by both media outlets and official sources, including the World Health
Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Public
Health Agency of Canada. This map was updated daily with media reports
and official reports as they became available. Both confirmed and suspect
novel influenza A (H1N1) deaths and cases were shown, and an interactive
timeline progression tool offered an animated view of the spread of the dis-
ease from the inception of the outbreak.
