Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Google Flu Trends Less Accurate Than Center for Disease Control

by Caleb Johnson on May 19, 2010 at 06:30 AM

Google Flu Trends Data
Despite using real-time search data, Google Flu Trends is less accurate at pinpointing confirmed influenza cases than originally thought. According to The Wall Street Journal, a study (.PDF) done by University of Washington scientists found that the site is less accurate than the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) flu surveillance programs. From 2003 to 2008, Google Flu Trends accurately predicted confirmed flu cases 72-percent of the time. Meanwhile, over the same span, the CDC's program had an 85-percent rate of success.

While the CDC's main concern is confirming flu cases, Google Flu Trends tracks and pinpoints any flu-like illness by aggregating search results. The WSJ compares Flu Trends to a guide, rather than an indicator, of actual flu cases. "It's important to look at them [together] in order to get a real sense of the situation," Matt Mohebbi, Flu Trends' lead engineer, told the WSJ. But now we know, like much data, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt -- or at least Emergen-C. [From: The Wall Street Journal]

Tags: CDC, CentersForDiseaseControlAndPrevention, flu, google, GoogleFluTrends, health, top, web

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular