New Application Aims to Detect Flu Outbreaks Faster

In the latest use of the Internet and social media to counter the flu and infectious diseases, researchers from MIT and Harvard said Tuesday that iPhone users have a new means of monitoring the spread of swine flu and other disease outbreaks.

The new iPhone application, “Outbreaks Near Me,” attempts to track the spread of flu outbreaks by monitoring social media and news reports online, using an existing resource called HealthMap, started in 2006. The app is a joint venture between MIT’s Media Lab and Children’s Hospital Boston…

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