#  Tracking Influenza Outbreaks and Google Search 

 





November 10, 2015

 

 

 [Samuel Kou](/people/sc-samuel-kou) is one of the co-authors of "[Accurate estimation of influenza epidemics using Google search data via ARGO](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/04/1515373112.abstract)", which just appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Media coverage includes the [Harvard Gazette](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/on-top-of-the-flu/), [Ars Technica](http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/new-flu-tracker-uses-google-search-data-better-than-google/), [SINC](http://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/Google-estadistica-y-big-data-para-cazar-brotes-de-gripe) (in Spanish), Rue89 (in French) and [Forschung Aktuell](http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/suchmaschinendaten-neuer-anlauf-fuer-die-grippeprognose.676.de.html?dram:article_id=337312) (in German). The paper is also featured in PNAS' New & Newsworthy column. Samuel's collaborators are Shihao Yang, a Ph.D. candidate in the Statistics Department, and [Mauricio Santillana](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~msantill/Mauricio_Santillana/Mauricio_Santillana.html), a lecturer in applied mathematics at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.