The National Flu Surveillance Network(TM) (NFSN), a division of ZymeTx, Inc., unveiled the new version of its FluWatch.com website in preparation for the 2000/2001 winter influenza season.
FluWatch.com pioneered Internet-based, real-time disease surveillance in 1998. The NFSN site has expanded rapidly since then, with the addition of new features and broader disease surveillance coverage.
These newly installed features include flash technologies which enable us to identify and track flu with greater accuracy and speed, said Dr Robert J. Hudson, NFSN managing director, in a press statement. The new site contains several interactive applications which make it more user-friendly and provide physicians with automated daily reporting capabilities.
One addition to the new site is its ability to pinpoint and track flu outbreaks in real-time down to the zip-code level. This valuable new feature improves our contribution toward the reduction of flu’s spread throughout an entire community, Hudson said. For example, school administrators can be alerted when flu is sweeping through the district, allowing them to take precautionary actions in hopes of lessening a flu outbreak’s potential impact.
A network of physicians located in more than 760 cities across the US report confirmed flu activity to the NFSN via an automated, Internet-based communication system. NFSN analysts review the data, post results on the web site and alert local communities through Flu Alert advisories.
NFSN classifies the severity of a flu outbreak in a local area with six designated influenza activity levels.
With vaccine delays and possible shortages this year, we are facing an uncertain, possibly dangerous, winter flu season, said Hudson. NFSN is well-equipped to alert communities to the presence of flu in their neighborhoods, educate them regarding prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and thereby implement the full spectrum of influenza disease management.
To help alert and warn communities expeditiously about flu outbreaks, FluWatch.com is introducing an exclusive Media Report Section, where media representatives can receive Flu Alert information, download press releases and stream video/audio information and interviews.
Last year NFSN generated over 2.5 million verifiable page views, Dr Hudson reported. We believe this level of activity validates the usefulness of the data to both health officials and consumers. The accurate surveillance provided by the NFSN plays an ever-increasing role in managing influenza in the US.
