The Conversation: Social Media Helps Officials Spot Public Health Threats -- But Only for the Rich?

By Elaine Nsoesie

Think of the last time you had food poisoning. Did you tweet about it? Did you Google your symptoms? Or did you write an angry review on Yelp?

Every day, people use the internet to seek and share health information. This opens up exciting new ways for scientists to study the health of a population, an approach known as digital epidemiology.

IOL SciTech: Tweet, Tweet, You're Ill

By Brady Dennis

One of the biggest hurdles to halting foodborne illness outbreaks is spotting the source of the problem – and spotting it quickly. More often than not, by the time authorities recognize an outbreak of salmonella, listeria or any of the other pathogens that sicken an estimated 48 million Americans each year, it already has had time to spread.

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