To read about how Google is able to track such data and offer it to you with a fair amount of certainty as to its accuracy, click here. If you would rather trust the Centers for Disease Control (whose data, by the way, is always two weeks behind Google's), click here. Another resource for the globally-oriented would be the World Health Organization's Global Atlas of Infectious Disease, which tracks infectious diseases worldwide.
Lastly, if your interest is the threat of pandemic influenza, try visiting PandemicFlu.gov, a treasure trove of information for those interested in what some say is an inevitable worldwide pandemic which could very well occur in the 21st century.
The internet affords a great deal of information regarding the tracking and surveillance of disease, emerging diseases, and other global threats to public health. Feel free to visit these resources at your leisure, and use the knowledge that you glean to prepare yourself and your family in whatever way seems sensible to you.
If you have any questions about influenza--or any other disease, please feel free to contact the Amherst Health Department at 413-259-3077 for information.
Here's to a healthy winter!
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Keith Carlson, RN, BS
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