Discrepancies Between Classic and Digital Epidemiology in Searching for the Mayaro Virus: Preliminary Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Google Trends.
Discrepancies Between Classic and Digital Epidemiology in Searching for the Mayaro Virus: Preliminary Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Google Trends.
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DOI：
10.2196/publichealth.9136
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发表时间：
2017-12-01
影响因子：
8.5
通讯作者：
Mahroum N
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Adawi M;Bragazzi NL;Watad A;Sharif K;Amital H;Mahroum N
马雅罗病毒（MAYV）于1954年在特立尼达首次发现，由血蚊传播。过去曾在巴西的亚马逊丛林和南美洲其他地区发生过小规模疫情。最近，海地农村报告了一例病例。鉴于MAYV的重要性，我们的目标是探索利用基于网络的工具来监测和跟踪MAYV病例的可行性。谷歌趋势是一个在线跟踪系统。以谷歌为基础的方法对监测特别具有传染性的流行病特别有用。我们从谷歌Trends成立以来（从2004年1月到2017年5月）在全球范围内搜索mayv相关的网络搜索。我们注意到，从2016年7月（相对搜索量[RSV]=13%）到2016年12月（RSV=18%），搜索量出现了爆炸式增长，2016年9月达到峰值（RSV=100%）。在此爆发之前，与MAYV相关的平均搜索活动非常低（中位数为1%）。与mayv有关的查询主要集中在加勒比地区。来自研究界和媒体报道的科学兴趣影响了数字搜索行为。MAYV一直在南美洲传播。它最近在加勒比地区的出现引起了人们的关注，这导致了互联网上的大量查询。虽然谷歌Trends不能用于对甲型h1n1流感病毒进行实时流行病学监测，但可以利用它来捕捉公众对疫情的反应。公共卫生工作者应认识到这一点，因为信息和通信技术可用于与用户沟通，使他们对所关切的问题放心，并使他们能够作出影响其健康的决定。
Mayaro virus (MAYV), first discovered in Trinidad in 1954, is spread by the Haemagogus mosquito. Small outbreaks have been described in the past in the Amazon jungles of Brazil and other parts of South America. Recently, a case was reported in rural Haiti. Given the emerging importance of MAYV, we aimed to explore the feasibility of exploiting a Web-based tool for monitoring and tracking MAYV cases. Google Trends is an online tracking system. A Google-based approach is particularly useful to monitor especially infectious diseases epidemics. We searched Google Trends from its inception (from January 2004 through to May 2017) for MAYV-related Web searches worldwide. We noted a burst in search volumes in the period from July 2016 (relative search volume [RSV]=13%) to December 2016 (RSV=18%), with a peak in September 2016 (RSV=100%). Before this burst, the average search activity related to MAYV was very low (median 1%). MAYV-related queries were concentrated in the Caribbean. Scientific interest from the research community and media coverage affected digital seeking behavior. MAYV has always circulated in South America. Its recent appearance in the Caribbean has been a source of concern, which resulted in a burst of Internet queries. While Google Trends cannot be used to perform real-time epidemiological surveillance of MAYV, it can be exploited to capture the public’s reaction to outbreaks. Public health workers should be aware of this, in that information and communication technologies could be used to communicate with users, reassure them about their concerns, and to empower them in making decisions affecting their health.