Digital Maps Help Fight Epidemics

Have you ever thought that it would be possible to monitor drug overdoses, Zika cases or the spread of the flu in real time? Have you ever imagined that satellites wouldbe able to tell how and where a malaria epidemic will happen months before the actual outbreak? It is mind-blowing how, in the last years, digital maps developed to a level where they serve as effective tools for evaluating, monitoring and even predicting health events. That’s why I decided to give a comprehensive overview of digital maps in healthcare. John Snow, cholera and the revolution of maps in healthcare Before Game of Thrones monopolized John Snow’s name, he was known among data journalists as the doctor who revolutionized how we look at data, maps, epidemics or microbes. When a cholera outbreak decimated the population of London in 1854, John Snow did something that no one before: he mapped the cases. Nowadays, it seems evident – but it is only because John Snow showed the way. Before he created his revolutionary map, people believed that cholera spreads around by miasma in the air. Yet, his representation exposed that the death cases clustered around one particular water pump, and soon he was able to find the source of the devastating epidemic. In the end, it turned out that sewage from a nearby cesspit polluted the water for the pump; where someone dumped a baby’s nappy contaminated with cholera. John Snow’s discovery was crucial in identifying the source of the epidemic and fighting...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Healthcare Design Mobile Health digital health digital technology epidemics epidemiology gc4 Innovation interactive maps Source Type: blogs