01-15-2014, 12:17 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-15-2014, 01:09 AM by Administrator.)
A flu forecasting website for the United States set up by infectious disease experts at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health may help “foster greater awareness of influenza activity and risk around the country, and motivate individuals to take measures, such as vaccination, to protect themselves against the virus" according to Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, who led the site’s development. The URL is cpid.iri.columbia.edu. The system reports predictions every Friday during the flu season for 94 US cities.
The latest data reported was for the week from December 29th 2013 to January 4th 2014. It reported in which cities flu was expected to arise and when it would peak and also in which cities seasonal flu is likely to have already peaked. Overall, the system predicted that the 2013-2014 flu season would peak later with fewer cases than in 2012-2013 but with considerably more severe cases than in 2011-2012 season.
According to a press release from Colombia, the website boasts features including:
• Interactive map of the United States the displays the relative severity of seasonal flu in cities across the country flu and incidence numbers for each.
• Influenza incidence predictions by city for the coming weeks.
• Map that illustrates the proportion of flu cases by region.
• Charts that compare the timing and severity of the four most recent flu seasons.
• Exportable data for each week of the flu season (beginning in 9/29 for the 2013-2014 season).
The scientifically validated system adapts techniques used in weather forecasting to convert real-time, Web-based estimates of influenza infection into local forecasts of the future influenza incidence by locality. It is hoped that access to the website may have a positive public health impact by influencing the public in terms of accessing vaccination and exercising care around people sneezing and coughing. It should also have a positive impact on public health officials by helping inform decisions on vaccine stockpiling and distribution and measures such as school closures. It is to be hoped that in the future this type of system may become available internationally.
This is a screenshot of cpid.iri.columbia.edu. Credit: cpid.iri.columbia.edu
Source
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...011314.php
The latest data reported was for the week from December 29th 2013 to January 4th 2014. It reported in which cities flu was expected to arise and when it would peak and also in which cities seasonal flu is likely to have already peaked. Overall, the system predicted that the 2013-2014 flu season would peak later with fewer cases than in 2012-2013 but with considerably more severe cases than in 2011-2012 season.
According to a press release from Colombia, the website boasts features including:
• Interactive map of the United States the displays the relative severity of seasonal flu in cities across the country flu and incidence numbers for each.
• Influenza incidence predictions by city for the coming weeks.
• Map that illustrates the proportion of flu cases by region.
• Charts that compare the timing and severity of the four most recent flu seasons.
• Exportable data for each week of the flu season (beginning in 9/29 for the 2013-2014 season).
The scientifically validated system adapts techniques used in weather forecasting to convert real-time, Web-based estimates of influenza infection into local forecasts of the future influenza incidence by locality. It is hoped that access to the website may have a positive public health impact by influencing the public in terms of accessing vaccination and exercising care around people sneezing and coughing. It should also have a positive impact on public health officials by helping inform decisions on vaccine stockpiling and distribution and measures such as school closures. It is to be hoped that in the future this type of system may become available internationally.
This is a screenshot of cpid.iri.columbia.edu. Credit: cpid.iri.columbia.edu
Source
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...011314.php
![[+]](https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/images/netpen-pro/collapse_collapsed.png)