It's flu season again and this year it's more important than ever to get a flu shot in order to prevent missing a lot of time from work or a job search. According to all early signs, this year's flu strain is spreading faster and causing more fatalities than previous years.
One of the new players in monitoring the spread of infectious diseases like the flu is Google. By tracking search statistics for terms having to do with the flu and flu-like symptoms, the search giant is able to track areas that are seeing the highest flu search activity. It's not surprising that their data shows a visual image of the same trends that CDC has been seeing. Of course, not everyone who searches for information about flu symptoms and treatment options has the virus, (for example, while researching this post, I Googled for lots of information about the flu and current flu trends) but when all of the patterns are compiled, a clear trend can be seen. You can take a look at their flu tracking map at the Google Flu Tracker. You can even see how their data matches up with the illness rates from the Center for Disease Control's Flu tracker.
According to both Google and the CDC, this year's flu virus is hitting early and it's hitting hard. Already there are reports of violent flu outbreaks in at least 41 states. The virus is predicted to cost businesses nearly $10.5 billion in lost work hours. In addition to lost work days, there have even been over 18 deaths attributed to the flu virus this year. In Boston, the mayor has even declared the flu as a public health emergency after having 700 reported cases.
All signs say that this year's most common strain of the virus, the H3N2 has been spreading at an extremely rapid pace. In New York City last year, there were only 4,400 cases of the flu reported during the entire flu season. This year, that number has skyrocketed to 15,500 and the flu season is just beginning.
The best way to protect yourself and your family is to get your flu shot as early as possible. Although many people claim to have gotten the flu from the vaccine, it's not very likely. After having received the vaccination, it takes about two weeks to become effective – meaning that in the interim, you can still catch the virus. Of course, if you have other risk factors like caring for children or the elderly you should get the vaccine as soon as you can.
If, in spite of everything, you end up getting the flu and wonder who gave it to you, don't worry – there's an app for that, too. The new Facebook App, “Help, I have the flu!” scans your Facebook friends in order to narrow down the list of possible culprits. Although I'm skeptical of any sort of app that scans my profile or the profiles of my friends for information, it looks like it would be entertaining, if not exactly helpful.
Still, prevention is the best cure, so take your vitamins and get your flu shot.
Have you caught the virus this year? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Image source: OpenClipArt
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