Global disease alert map

h/t AT, Intro GIS

Google.org’s investment of “More than $14Million for genetic and digital detection” is the title of a blog post that I recently came across. Under a program called Predict and Prevent, Google is working with Healthmap.org and Promed-mail.org to tract the outbreak of infectious diseases across the world through digital and genetic approaches.

These three organizations work together to use GIS to display geospatial data on global disease alert maps. Each pushpin on the map is related to a dialogue box which gives you the latest epidemic/infectious disease outbreak in a country. For example, by clicking on a pushpin located in Sudan, a dialogue box will give you a link to promed-mail, which will give you the updates on how many patients died from Cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery diseases on a given date and given location in Sudan.

Through its maps, Google.org wants to distribute knowledge about infectious diseases. This in turn empower communities and individuals, because they have more rapid access to the data that can help reduce to time of response when dealing with a health crisis. Indeed, by funding partners to collect geospatial data through digital detection, Predict and Prevent can help detect early indicators of a certain disease, in order to prevent that it become a local, regional and global epidemic.

One Response to “Global disease alert map”

  1. The video describes 1 to 2 new diseases per year…Research shows 3 to 4 new and reemerging disease per year….This is something covered on a Website devoted to infectious disease transmission: Local Action Global Health.org.
    We want to share with you some videos on disease transmission to share with others, including in the classroom.
    We’re also blogging Google.org today.