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Google Search Engine

Check Global Flu Trends

SUMMARY: Use Google's technology to predict when the flu will spread in the USA and several countries around the world.

Google has developed a prediction tool for when flu outbreaks will spread in the United States and several countries around the world including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. Based on search engine queries, Google claims this tool provides near real-time estimates of flu activity, while traditional reports may have a lag time of 1-2 weeks.

The Flu Trends website shows a a graph with current and predicted flu outbreak times based on historical data. Data can be further broken down by state / region / etc.

Snapshot of Google Flu Trends

For those wishing to perform their own statistical analysis, raw data in CSV format can be downloaded via the "Download data" link.

Note that for some countries, the estimates are experimental.

Google Flu Trends - http://www.google.org/flutrends/