November 25, 2009

iPhone app from MIT Media Lab tracks H1N1 outbreaks

BY Dr. Keith J. Kaplan

Outbreaks_Near_Me_270x404 USA Today (11/25, Marcus) reports that a new iPhone application will allow users to "find out where in their state an H1N1 outbreak has occurred and learn the best ways to avoid it." The application, called Outbreaks Near Me, also lets users know "when vaccines will be available nearby and get news on how some of the afflicted are doing." John Brownstein, who developed the application with colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, says "about 100,000 people" have downloaded the app since its debut in September. Meanwhile, co-developer Clark Freifeld says the accuracy of the data being submitted "suggests the iPhone may be a sensitive tool for monitoring early outbreak trends."

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