A Web site that tracks outbreaks of infectious diseases worldwide is sometimes proving faster than the Centers for Disease Control or the World Health Organization at detecting outbreaks, according to an article last week from Discovery News.
The Web site called HealthMap was developed by Harvard Medical School employees John Brownstein, an assistant professor of pediatrics, and Clark Friefeld, a software developer. Mr. Brownstein says the Web site took off after Google.org, the technology company’s philanthropic arm, pumped money into the project nine months ago.
HealthMap trolls through large amounts of data on the Internet to pinpoint the locations of diseases. The developers are planning to include detailed information on HealthMap about each outbreak.—Andrea L. Foster
