Track Where People Are Sick With the Sickweather App
You run the risk of contracting the flu, colds, or other random virus almost every time you decide to leave home – but what if you knew where people got sick before you went there?
Sickweather is an app that scans social networks like Twitter and Facebook to see where people report they are sick, and then uses that data to rate them as sick.
The iOS and Android app logs millions of different disease reports each month and breaks them down by disease, and provides a basic Sick Zone Alert.
For example, right now, my home in San Francisco is in a high risk area with a SickScore of 78.
On the map, I can see where each person reported the disease to the app (luckily, none of them are in my area) and what they probably have. Most illnesses nearby are flu and one guy (or girl) is coughing.
The idea is that you can see how many people in the city you are traveling to are suffering from colds or stomach viruses and plan accordingly.
This is clearly not ideal.
You rely on social media posts, input from Sickweather partners, and people using the app to report illnesses that, let’s face it, don’t cover everything. The app does offer families the ability to track household illnesses, which can help improve reporting rates.
I know I rarely post on social media when I’m sick, so I definitely won’t be contributing to the accumulation of collective knowledge, and I’m certainly not alone.
However, the app can give you a general idea of what you are going to do on your trip and whether you should pack your Emergen-C box just in case. It won’t stop you from getting sick, but it can often help just to know what you are likely to encounter, or, if you get sick, that you are not alone and something is happening around you.