iPhone, Twitter Fight Swine Flu

The NBC Nightly News did a report about how the iPhone, Twitter, and Google are being used in the fight against swine flu and other diseases. The technology includes an iPhone app from Children's Hospital in Boston, and tools to use Google Searches and Twitter messages to map outbreaks.Children's Hospital in Boston has developed an iPhone app for H1N1 that sends alerts to the user about nearby outbreaks, and also allows users to report on outbreaks of H1N1 and other infectious illnesses near them, according to the NBC report.

Google Flu Trends keeps track of Google searches relating to the flu, and maps which geographic location they're coming from. The results have been consistent with CDC reporting on the cases.

We wrote about Google Flu Trends in April, and also how the CDC is using Twitter, YouTube and other Internet tools to fight swine flu.

Another application looks at Twitter messages relating to the flu and other illnesses, and uses Google Earth to map the location of those tweets in realtime, according to the NBC report.

And, finally, HealthMap.org compiles reports about many diseases.

Watch the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

InformationWeek has published an in-depth report on e-health and the federal stimulus package. Download the report here (registration required).

Follow InformationWeek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn:

Twitter: @InformationWeek @IWpremium @MitchWagner

Facebook: InformationWeek Mitch Wagner

LinkedIn: InformationWeek Mitch Wagner