Internet search engines could help public health specialists identify disease outbreaks in their early stages, according to an Australian expert.
Researchers can get access to search terms use on Google and other search engines.
According to Dr Wenbiao Hu, of Queensland University of Technology, Australia, Google trends can highlight outbreaks up to two months before official organisations, such as the World Health Organisation, recognises them.
Reporting in Lancet Infectious Diseases, Dr Hu says this is because so many people now check their symptoms on-line before visiting a doctor.
In 2005 a bird flu outbreak would have been spotted up to two weeks before official surveillance confirmed it, he said.
And a study of the SARS outbreak ten years ago showed it could have been detected two months earlier than it was, he claimed.
Other studies have suggested that Twitter could be used to monitor the spread of disease.
Dr Hu said: "There is the potential for digital technology to revolutionise emerging infectious disease surveillance.
"This is because traditional surveillance relies on the patient recognising the symptoms and seeking treatment before diagnosis, along with the time taken for health professionals to alert authorities through their health networks.
"In contrast, digital surveillance can provide real-time detection of epidemics."
Lancet Infectious Diseases January 2014
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