Google Maps Catching Diseases

The BioCaster Global Health Monitor is a Google Map showing outbreaks of known and emerging infectious diseases around the world. The map works by text mining over 1,400 RSS news feeds for information about emerging diseases.

You can search for news about individual diseases. It is also possible to search the map by date. You can choose to view headlines for the present day or the previous thirty days. You can also look at any specific weekly period over the last four weeks. The timeline control below the map allows you to view an animation of the past thirty days on the map.


HealthMap is another Google Maps based application that plots real-time infectious disease outbreaks from around the world.

The map gathers data from disparate sources, including online news aggregators, eyewitness reports, expert-curated discussions and validated official reports.

Danish Data Journalism Award

Google, The Guardian and the Danish newspaper Information have announced the winner of the Danish data journalism competition, Nyhedshacker 2012.

The winning project, Doctors for Sale was created by Anders Pedersen. Doctors for Sale is a Google Map, created with Fusion Tables, that shows all the Danish doctors who are sponsored by the medical industry. The information is designed to inform patients about which of their local doctors might be prescribing drugs based on their sponsorship rather than based on strict medical reasons or prescribing the cheapest drugs available.

Anders Pedersen's prize for winning the competition is €2,500 and a one month secondment with the Guardian newspaper in London working with the paper's Datablog team.

Hat-tip: microformats.dk

The Genetic Risk of Disease on Google Maps

The Genetic Risks World Map shows the effects of human migration on the genetic risk of multiple diseases around the world.

It is possible to select to view individual diseases from the map sidebar. The map then shows which populations around the world are most susceptible to the disease. Users can click on map markers to view the likelihood ratio of the disease at different locations.

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A Google Map of School Immunizations

The Chicago Tribune has analysed state data for clusters of children without the required vaccinations at public and private schools in Illinois. These clusters seriously raise the chances of school-based outbreaks of serious preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough.

To accompany the analysis the Chicago Tribune has created a Google Map that lets you search for individual schools and view the percentage of students at the school with the recommended immunizations.

The map also shows hotspots where schools don't meet these recommendations.

2010-2011 School Immunization Map

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Mapping Diabetes on Google Maps

TuAnalyze is an app for recording and sharing measures of diabetes. The app is jointly developed by Children's Hospital Boston and TuDiabetes.org.

TuAnalyze uses Google Maps to map haemoglobin A1c, which is an indirect measure of diabetes management. The map shows user recordings of A1c in each U.S. state and in a number of other countries. Each state and country is shaded to reflect the average A1c levels.

TuAnalyze - TuDiabetes

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Disease Mapping with the Google Maps API

The mapping of diseases has a long and distinguished history.

Perhaps the most famous disease map is the spot map created by John Snow in 1854. Snow created his map to plot an outbreak of cholera in Soho, London. The map helped to prove that the Soho outbreak of the disease was caused by water that came from one pump in Broad Street.

The dominant theory at the time was that cholera was caused by "bad air", so John Snow's map helped to prove that water was the true cause of the disease.

This video gives a good account of what John Snow's map making achieved,



Singapore Dengue Fever Map

WaetherLah has created this Google Map to track cases of Dengue Fever in Singapore. The map uses dynamic map markers to show the number of cases reported at different locations in the city-state.

Google also has a Dengue Trends website that uses a number of search terms as indicators of dengue activity. Google Dengue Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate dengue activity and then creates a heat-map to display locations where there is currently likely to be high Dengue activity.

HealthMap

HealthMap is a Google Maps based application that plots real-time worldwide infectious disease outbreaks from around the world.

The map gathers data from disparate sources, including online news aggregators, eyewitness reports, expert-curated discussions and validated official reports.

Toronto Start STD Map

Back in 2009 the Toronto Star created five different Google Maps showing the rates of Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, HIV, Infectious Syphilis and Other Syphilis in different neighbourhoods in the city. The data for the maps was supplied by the Ministry of Health in response to a freedom of information request.

A good analysis of the maps is available on the Toronto Star's website here. It would be interesting, to see these maps in conjunction with other data, such as average income, levels of health insurance etc.


Also See

Mapping Swine Flu - a round-up of the outbreak of mapping following the Swine Flu epidemic in 2009

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HIV/AIDS Service Providers Map

Find HIV / AIDS Prevention & Service Providers

AIDS.gov has used Google Maps to provide a location-based search tool for AIDS / HIV testing services, housing providers, health centers and other service providers near your current location.

The map automatically detects your location and displays the nearest HIV/AIDS prevention and service providers within 5 miles. You can also change your address or the distance of the search radius you wish to search within.

The map markers for the prevention and service providers are organised by category. If you click on a service provider's map marker you can get its full name and address and driving directions from your current location.

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Augmented Reality Flu Shot Finder

Niobium Labs Flu Shot Finder

The Flu Shot Finder is a free iPhone 3GS and Android augmented reality application that shows you where you can get a flu shot. The application is based on Google's Flu Shot Locator.

The application provides information on where to find both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations. It also provides dates, times, addresses and phone numbers for clinics offering flu shots near your current location.

You can see the results in both an augmented reality view and on a Google Map. In addition you can be redirected to your state health institution committee web site to review availabilities of the vaccines.

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Find a Flu Shot Clinic with Google Maps

Google Flu Shot Locator

Google have collaborated with the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services to create a new feature for the U.S. which allows anyone to easily find where you can get both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccine.

Google say that the project has only just begun so initially many locations do not have flu shot data and some locations that are shown are currently out of stock. On loading the map Google will try to detect your location automatically. You can also enter your location into a search box.

After establishing your location the map shows locations where seasonal flu shots are available and where H1N1 flu shots can be had. The different locations are shown with red and blue map markers respectably.

In addition to this new map Google also provide the Google Flu Trends site to show the current search trends for 'flu' in 20 countries.

Via: Official Google Blog

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Obese Smokers Live in the Country

Toronto Star Map of the Week

The Toronto Star's latest Google Maps mashups look at two health related issues. The Obesity Map uses data from the Canadian Community Health Survey to show obesity in Ontario by health region. The Smoking Map uses data from the same survey to show smoking rates in Ontario health regions.

Both maps seem to suggest that obesity and high levels of smoking in Ontario are more prevalent in northern and rural communities, whilst urban areas appear to have lower smoking rates and levels of obesity.

It would be interesting to know if a similar pattern was evident in other regions of Canada and in other countries. If you want to join the debate about why obesity and smoking is more prevalent in northern and rural Ontario both maps have interesting comment sections.

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Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Updated

Using maps to track the spread of diseases has a long history and in the past has often helped to contain or stop their spread.

Perhaps the most famous disease map is the spot map created by John Snow in 1854. Snow created his map to plot the location of cases of cholera in Soho, London. The map helped to prove that the Soho outbreak of the disease was caused by water that came from one pump in Broad Street. The dominant theory at the time was that cholera was caused by "bad air", so John Snow's map helped to prove the true cause of the disease.

None of the maps below are likely to help us overcome Swine Flu and most of the maps are far less accurate than the map created by John Snow. However these maps do give us a reasonable overall impression of how the outbreak is spreading.


H1N1 Swine Flu My Map
This Google My Map seems to have been the first map to have been created to track the Swine Flu outbreak. The map was created by Dr. Henry Niman a biomedical researcher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The map, which has generated nearly 400,000 views so far, is embedded below.


View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map

The FluTracker Map uses data from Dr Niman's H1N1 Swine Flu My Map. The data is compiled from official sources, news reports and user-contributions.

Mapa de Influenza

This Google Map shows the spread of Swine Flu in Mexico. The map is a collaborative, social sharing attempt to map the epidemic, which requires user input.

If anyone knows of an outbreak of the flu they can add the information to the map by clicking on the location and entering the details.

Wikiprotest Swine Flu Maps

Wikiprotest have embedded the H1N1 map above in their blog and have also found another Google My Map of the H1N1 Swine Flu Outbreak. This My Map is marked as 'open collaboration', which means that anyone can add to the map if they know of Swine Flu cases not yet on the map.

This map uses black markers to indicate confirmed deaths and red markers to indicate confirmed infections. Question markers on top of the markers indicate that it is a 'suspected' death or infection. This map seems to show that the outbreak may have already reached Europe.

HealthMap

It is possible to follow the latest worldwide news about the swine flu outbreak on the excellent HealthMap. To view swine flu news make sure that you uncheck everything except for influenza in the 'Diseases, last 30 days' column.

HealthMap aggregates news feeds from the WHO, Google News, ProMED, and many other sources to provide the latest information from all around the world.

Swine Flu Tweets

If you want to track the reactions of the Twittersphere to the Swine Flu outbreak this Google Map is tracking the latest tweets that mention 'swine flu'. The map animates through the latest tweets as they are made.

It is possible to select which part of the USA (or Europe) you wish to see tweets from by selecting from the buttons on the left of the map.

Geocommons Maker! Maps

FortiusOne's GeoCommons have produced three new Google Maps to show areas around the world that have been affected by the current outbreak of H1N1 Swine Flu and areas that might be prone to the outbreak.

The first map (pictured above) has a really useful interactive timeline that shows the spread of reported cases throughout the world. Press play on the timeline and the map will animate. It is also possible to drag the timeline to view data for any given day.

Swine Flu Cases and Measures by Country

The second Google Map shows what different countries are doing to avoid the spread of the outbreak in their country. The map also shows the number of swine flu cases that each country has encountered so far.

Air Passengers between the US and Mexico

The third map from Geocommons shows the number of air passengers between the US and Mexico. The number of passengers is shown on the map by the size of the map marker. It is possible to click on the markers to get more detailed information.

Up2Maps Swine Flu Map

This is the first heat map of the outbreak that I have seen. The colour on the map represents the percentage of the world's possible cases of Swine Flu that each country has.

A heat map gives a very good quick overall impression of which countries are being affected by the outbreak and by how much.

Up2Nets have also produced another heat map of the outbreak called H1N1 Swine Flu Infected and Possible Infected

OpenFlu Map

OpenFlu have produced a simple Google Map that show the current cases of Swine Flu around the world. OpenFlu are also presenting the data in table form, so users have two ways to visualise the scale of the outbreak.

The OpenFlu data is being collated from The Guardian and a number of other sources.

Washington Post Distribution of Cases Map

The Washington Post has used the Google Maps Flash API to produce this map that is tracking the distribution of Swine Flu (H1N1) cases around the world. The map shows confirmed cases in red and suspected cases in black.

To learn more about cases at each location click on the map markers. The map uses marker clustering, therefore more individual cases will appear as you zoom in on a location. The Washington Post map also includes a number of buttons which will zoom the map to different countries around the world.

Google Flu Trends

Google have now released a special Google Flu Trends page for Mexico. The page uses Google search activity in Mexico to help track human swine flu levels. Unlike the Google Flu Trends for U.S., this data is not validated against confirmed cases of flu but after conferring with US and Mexican health officials, Google decided to share these results "to provide additional information on the evolving epidemic."

The page includes an interactive Flash heat map of the Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico. Pointing at any region with your mouse will bring up a legend informing you of the current level of the outbreak in that area.

Via: Official Google Blog: Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico

Ushahidi Swine Flu Map

Google Maps mashups of the Swine Flu Outbreak are still being produced thick and fast. The latest comes from crisis information crowdsourcing website Ushahidi and is actually one of the best maps of the outbreak so far.

This Google Map of the outbreak allows you to filter the results shown on the map by Confirmed Cases, Suspected Cases, Confirmed Death, Suspected Death and Negative. Beneath the map is a graph showing the rise (and hopefully eventually the fall) in cases of Swine Flu. The user can adjust the dates to view a graph for any period and the data on the map will change to reflect the date range chosen as well.

Like all of Ushahidi's Google Map mashups users can submit information to the map by filling in a short form or by sending an SMS message.

Click2Map

Click2Map, the map creation website, have also produced a Google Map of the outbreak. The Click2Map Google Map lets the user filter the results shown on the map by Confirmed cases, Suspected cases, Deaths and Negative.

The map makes good use of numbered marker clustering which allows the user to get a quick overview of the extent of the outbreak in different states and countries. The Click2Map map also has a search facility so that the user can find a location on the map that they are interested in viewing results for.

Geotagged Swine Flu Videos

Another interesting way to keep up-to-date on the latest news about the outbreak is via this Google Map of geotagged YouTube videos about Swine Flu.

The map includes a number of videos about the outbreak, mainly from news channels. The map includes a handy forward and back button which makes it easy to skip forward to the next video.

H1N1 Swine Flu Timeline

Using the Google Earth plugin I've created a timeline of the H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak. The data comes from the H1N1 Swine Flu My Map.

Due to the inaccuracy of the data this map should be seen purely as an experiment. For example, the timestamps on the data seems to suggest that the outbreak spread from the USA to Mexico rather than the other way around. However the timeline does give a rough idea of how the outbreak seems to be spreading.

BBC Map of the Outbreak

The BBC map does not use the Google Maps API but I'll include it here because it is likely to be one of the most accurate maps in this list and because it has a good timeline of the spread of the disease.


Swine Flu Map Animation - this map uses a number of maps created with the Google Chart API to create an animated timeline of the outbreak.

Swine Flu Cases in Western Europe - this My Map is tracking the outbreak exclusively in Western Europe.

Swine Flu Heat Map - This site uses the Google Visualisation API to produce a heat map of the outbreak. The site also contains a time graph so you can view the increase (and hopefully the decrease) in cases over time.

Chicago Schools And Business Closures - This Google My Map shows school and business closures in the Chicago area and surrounding counties related to the recent
H1N1 Swine Flu Outbreak.

RSOE -Pandemic Monitoring System - Full screen Google Map of the Swine Flu outbreak with a rolling ticker of the latest news on the outbreak in each country.

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Swine Flu Maps Roundup

The recent outbreak of Google Maps Mashups of the Swine Flu epidemic shows no sign of abating. Instead of writing a new post every day (there have been four posts on Swine Flu already this week) I have decided that new maps on this subject will now just be added to this 'roundup' post.

Washington Post Distribution of Cases Map

The Washington Post has used the Google Maps Flash API to produce this map that is tracking the distribution of Swine Flu (H1N1) cases around the world. The map shows confirmed cases in red and suspected cases in black.

To learn more about cases at each location click on the map markers. The map uses marker clustering, therefore more individual cases will appear as you zoom in on a location. The Washington Post map also includes a number of buttons which will zoom the map to different countries around the world.

Previous Swine Flu Maps

• Google Flu Trends - Google's Flu Trends Site is using a custom built Flash heat map to track searches for 'Swine Flu'
• H1N1 Swine Flu My Map - This Google My Map was the first map produced to track the spread of the outbreak.
• Ushahidi Swine Flu Map - a map from the crisis information crowdsourcing website Ushahidi.
• Click2Map
• Geotagged Swine Flu Videos
• Mapa de Influenza
• Wikiprotest Swine Flu Maps
• HealthMap
• Swine Flu Tweets - Mapping Tweets about Swine Flu
• Geocommons Maker! Maps
• Swine Flu Cases and Measures by Country
• Air Passengers between the US and Mexico
• Air Passengers between the US and Mexico
• OpenFlu Map
• 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map - This is another Google My Map of the outbreak with contributors from all over the world, from a variety of backgrounds (health, journalism, technology)
• Swine Flu Tracker - This map had a dedicated US map as well as a worldwide map of confirmed cases of Swine Flu
• FluTracker - this map uses data from the H1N1 Swine Flu My Map
• Swine Flu Map Animation - this map uses a number of maps created with the Google Chart API to create an animated timeline of the outbreak
• H1N1 Influenza 2009 - another Google My Map of the outbreak
  

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Maps of the Swine Flu - Part 4 (Updated)

Google Flu Trends

Google have now released a special Google Flu Trends page for Mexico. The page uses Google search activity in Mexico to help track human swine flu levels. Unlike the Google Flu Trends for U.S., this data is not validated against confirmed cases of flu but after conferring with US and Mexican health officials, Google decided to share these results "to provide additional information on the evolving epidemic."

The page includes an interactive Flash heat map of the Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico. Pointing at any region with your mouse will bring up a legend informing you of the current level of the outbreak in that area.

Via: Official Google Blog: Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico

Ushahidi Swine Flu Map

Google Maps mashups of the Swine Flu Outbreak are still being produced thick and fast. The latest comes from crisis information crowdsourcing website Ushahidi and is actually one of the best maps of the outbreak so far.

This Google Map of the outbreak allows you to filter the results shown on the map by Confirmed Cases, Suspected Cases, Confirmed Death, Suspected Death and Negative. Beneath the map is a graph showing the rise (and hopefully eventually the fall) in cases of Swine Flu. The user can adjust the dates to view a graph for any period and the data on the map will change to reflect the date range chosen as well.

Like all of Ushahidi's Google Map mashups users can submit information to the map by filling in a short form or by sending an SMS message.

Click2Map

Click2Map, the map creation website, have also produced a Google Map of the outbreak. The Click2Map Google Map lets the user filter the results shown on the map by Confirmed cases, Suspected cases, Deaths and Negative.

The map makes good use of numbered marker clustering which allows the user to get a quick overview of the extent of the outbreak in different states and countries. The Click2Map map also has a search facility so that the user can find a location on the map that they are interested in viewing results for.

Geotagged Swine Flu Videos

Another interesting way to keep up-to-date on the latest news about the outbreak is via this Google Map of geotagged YouTube videos about Swine Flu.

The map includes a number of videos about the outbreak, mainly from news channels. The map includes a handy forward and back button which makes it easy to skip forward to the next video.

Also See

Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 1
Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 2
Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 3

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Swine Flu Outbreak (3) - Updated

Geocommons Maker! Maps

FortiusOne's GeoCommons have produced three new Google Maps to show areas around the world that have been affected by the current outbreak of H1N1 Swine Flu and areas that might be prone to the outbreak.

The first map (pictured above) has a really useful interactive timeline that shows the spread of reported cases throughout the world. Press play on the timeline and the map will animate. It is also possible to drag the timeline to view data for any given day.

Swine Flu Cases and Measures by Country

The second Google Map shows what different countries are doing to avoid the spread of the outbreak in their country. The map also shows the number of swine flu cases that each country has encountered so far.

Air Passengers between the US and Mexico

The third map from Geocommons shows the number of air passengers between the US and Mexico. The number of passengers is shown on the map by the size of the map marker. It is possible to click on the markers to get more detailed information.

Up2Maps Swine Flu Map

This is the first heat map of the outbreak that I have seen. The colour on the map represents the percentage of the world's possible cases of Swine Flu that each country has.

A heat map gives a very good quick overall impression of which countries are being affected by the outbreak and by how much.

Up2Nets have also produced another heat map of the outbreak called H1N1 Swine Flu Infected and Possible Infected

OpenFlu Map

OpenFlu have produced a simple Google Map that show the current cases of Swine Flu around the world. OpenFlu are also presenting the data in table form, so users have two ways to visualise the scale of the outbreak.

The OpenFlu data is being collated from The Guardian and a number of other sources.


Also See
Swine Flu Maps - Part 1
Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 2
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Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 2

H1N1 Swine Flu Timeline

Using the Google Earth plugin I've created a timeline of the H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak. The data comes from the H1N1 Swine Flu My Map.

Due to the inaccuracy of the data this map should be seen purely as an experiment. For example, the timestamps on the data seems to suggest that the outbreak spread from the USA to Mexico rather than the other way around. However the timeline does give a rough idea of how the outbreak seems to be spreading.

HealthMap

It is possible to follow the latest worldwide news about the swine flu outbreak on the excellent HealthMap. To view swine flu news make sure that you uncheck everything except for influenza in the 'Diseases, last 30 days' column.

HealthMap aggregates news feeds from the WHO, Google News, ProMED, and many other sources to provide the latest information from all around the world.

Swine Flu Tweets

If you want to track the reactions of the Twittersphere to the Swine Flu outbreak this Google Map is tracking the latest tweets that mention 'swine flu'. The map animates through the latest tweets as they are made.

It is possible to select which part of the USA (or Europe) you wish to see tweets from by selecting from the buttons on the left of the map.

Also See

Swine Flu Maps - Part 1
Maps of the Swine Flu Outbreak - Part 3

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Google Maps Virtual Microscope

NYU School of Medicine Virtual Microscope

Created by the NYU School of Medicine the Virtual Microscope uses the Google Maps API to display and navigate scanned slides of microscopic images. Students and faculty members who are logged into the school's Learning Management System can even add markers to the slides to annotate and comment on slide features.

The site even comes with its own 'hot or not' feature which allows students to rate the slides (at the moment the most popular is a slide of the intestinal helminthic infection Trichuris trichiura - as if you hadn't guessed). The slides also come with a 'link-to-view' button which allows students to save or share links to a specific image, location within the slide and zoom level.

There are currently 246 slides available for viewing.

Via: Ogle Earth

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Tracking Flu Trends

Google Flu Trends

Google have a very nice implementation of a Flash map on a new Google Flu Trends website. The map shows aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in each state in the US. Google have found that when they tally each month's flu-related search queries it bears a close correlation to how many people actually have a flu-like illness.

If anyone wants to build their own Google Maps flu mash-up they can download Google's data:

• Current Estimates: this season's ILI estimates, including the current week's data
• Historical Estimates: weekly ILI estimates for the five previous seasons (beginning with 2003-2004)

Presumably in aggregating this data Google have found some way to ignore searches for the 'Man Flu' strain of flu:


Via: Official Google Blog: Tracking flu trends

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6 new US Google Maps mashups: Movies, housing, food, health, moods

Google Maps Movie Mashups: ThreeMovieBuffs.com - Scott Nash has created a new movie mashup that maps movie theater locations and movie listings for each theater, anywhere in the US. Filter by movie so you can see just those theaters showing a particular movie. Check out this example for the 10010 zip code in New York. More info on this added feature to Scott's site here..
New York in the Movies - Scott has also created a New York movie map which he describes in the following way: "..Your guide to filming locations in one of the greatest cities in the world. Featuring locations for 132 scenes from 72 different movies and television shows, and growing."
More Google Maps Movie Mashups here..
Also see: Google.com/Movies (movies/showtimes by US zip code) [Canada here..]

SearchOnMaps is a great new real estate mashup - This new Google Maps housing mashup combines real estate data provided by RealBird (listings via Listing Publisher and business profiles via the RealBird Yellow Pages service) and a home valuation tool by Zillow with local agent recommendations by RealBird. Data overlays include Yelp local reviews, Zvents local events, traffic incidents by Yahoo and nearby ValPak coupons. The service allows you to email, social bookmark and share properties, home valuations, business profiles or a specific map extent and to subscribe to RSS updates on a specific map via the unique "Watch this map" tool. (Read more here..)
More Google Maps Housing Mashups here..

• BlogUSphere Moods - This mashup combines We Feel Fine, Yahoo! Pipes and The Google Mashup Editor to map the feelings of the US blogosphere.. [Via ProgrammableWeb]
• America's Best Hospitals for Cancer Treatment - ..as mentioned in USNews (2007 data)
• Foodio 54 - Choose a restaurant based on your tastes and Foodio will match up your criteria with other users' interests and restaurants. Uses Google Maps to plot restaurants to make finding them easy. [Via ProgrammableWeb]

Google Maps US Sickness Mashup

Wondering if that flu you have is something that's going around? WhoIsSick.com is a new Google Maps mashup that is focused on bringing heath information to the public by tracking and monitoring current and local sicknesses.

Visit WhoIsSick to filter those who are sick in your area by sickness, symptoms and other data points that people have entered themselves on the site. The resulting mashup provides a current local health snapshot (depending on user participation in that area) and also would let parents, teachers etc get an idea of what sicknesses are affecting their area. WhoIsSick gives you many tools to search and analyze the data that is collected as well. Be sure to let this mashup know when your next cold or flu breaks to make it more useful for those in your community!

Related:
HealthMap - Worldwide disease outbreak Google Maps mashup