TECHNOLOGY
Before the Ebola outbreak there was HealthMap
A FULL NINE days before Ebola was even recognized by the World Health Organizations as an epidemic there was something else . HealthMap , a software that mines government websites , social networks and local news reports , identified a “ mystery hemorrhagic fever ” that was going around .
This raised the question : What potential do the vast amounts of data shared through social media hold in indentifying outbreaks and controlling the disease ?
A San Diego State University professor recently authored a study that shows the connection between predicting potential outbreaks ( specifically pertussis and influenza ) and social media and data from mobile phones .
8 April 2015