National “HealthMap” and CDC Help Track and Understand H1N1 and Seasonal Flu
October 7, 2009
A national HealthMap that will help radiation oncology administrators track outbreaks of H1N1 and seasonal flu this winter season is now online at flu.gov.
Funded by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant, the Web site provides the information necessary to track flu activity by state and territory back to November 2008, according to information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). John Brownstein, principal investigator on an NLM grant to implement the site, is collaborating with the Web Communications Division to maintain an interactive map with links to state departments of health and news on flu outbreaks.
The direct link at www.flu.gov/whereyoulive/healthmap/ also offers a quick overview of where flu cases have been reported and verified.
Another H1N1 and flu tracking resource provided by the U.S. government is the weekly “FluView” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm. Each week the CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes its key findings of flu indicators. In the last week of September, the CDC reported that influenza-like illness is continuing to increase “in some areas of the country, and overall, are higher than levels expected for this time of the year,” based on visits to physicians.
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