How Google search can be used to track dengue in underdeveloped countries

An analytical tool that uses Google search data can quickly and accurately track dengue fever in less-developed countries, and could enable faster response to outbreaks, scientists say.

The research builds on a methodology previously developed by the team to track influenza in the US.

The mathematical modelling tool, known as "AutoRegression with GOogle search queries" (ARGO), revived hopes in 2015 that internet search data could help health officials track diseases after earlier systems like Google Flu Trends and Google Dengue Trends returned poor results.

In the new study, the researchers at Harvard University in the US modified ARGO to explore its potential to track dengue activity in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne virus that infects about 390 million people each year, is often difficult to monitor with traditional hospital-based reporting due to inefficient communication, but dengue-related Google searches could provide faster alerts.

The researchers used Google's "Trends" tool to track the top ten dengue-related search queries made by users in each country during the study period.
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