#14,617
Judging by the sudden (and much appreciated) jump in the number of visitors to this humble blog over the past few days, it's a pretty good bet that many of my readers are new to `Flublogia'; this little corner of the internet - staffed by volunteers - who are devoted to tracking and reporting on infectious disease outbreaks.
Our roots go back to early in the last decade, and while we've seen some changing of the guard over the years (see Effect Measure’s Farewell Blog and Farewell To The Flu Wiki) , our mission remains the same; creating a collegial, cooperative, and hyperbole free source of good information of emerging infectious diseases.There is no charter or dues, just a shared sense of civic responsibility to seek out reliable news from around the world, and to relay that information free of charge.
We are an eclectic bunch, with a variety of skills and life experiences, running the gamut from a retired paramedic (me), to an English Professor & Sci Fi author (Crof), a former real estate agent (Sharon Sanders) who runs FluTrackers, to a working virologist (Dr. Ian Mackay), who runs the Virology Down Under Blog.
Of course, we aren't alone in this endeavor. There's ProMed Mail, Outbreak News Today, and of course, the always terrific gang at CIDRAP, led by Michael T. Osterholm.There are also solid science reporters (an increasingly rare breed) like Helen Branswell at STAT, Lisa Schnirring (and others) at CIDRAP, Maryn McKenna, Jason Gale at Bloomberg, Mike Stobbe, and Maggie Fox who can always be counted on to report accurately, and rationally on outbreaks.
Although we all attack this task in different ways, we freely share information, are often in contact with one another, which (I'm happy to say) results in an astonishing lack of ego or competition in Flublogia.So, for new readers looking to find the best sources for reliable infectious disease information on the web, a brief tour of FluBlogia.
FluTrackers
Led by my frequent co-conspirator Sharon Sanders, and manned by dozens of dedicated volunteer newshounds from all around the globe, FluTrackers is often the first English language site to announce new outbreaks.
They were covering the 2013 outbreak of `atypical pneumonia' in China - which turned out to be H7N9 avian flu - weeks before anyone else, had some of the first reports of Ebola in West Africa in early 2014, and just 72 hours ago posted some of the earliest reports of the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak.Sharon primarily funds the site out of her own pocket, and keeps the focus on finding and parsing information - not drama. There have been other `flu forums' in the past, but none have the kind of repository of data that resides on FluTrackers.
The credit goes to the volunteers who devote enormous time and energy to finding outbreak reports in dozens of languages - translating them - and then posting them for the online community to share. Frankly, I couldn't do what I do in this blog without them, since no one person can possibly cover the ground they cover each day.
Their volunteers include doctors, soccer moms, school teachers, and retirees. The amount of work they put in is amazing, and nobody makes a dime off of it. FT is my first stop every morning before I decide what to blog, and it should be your first stop as well.
CROFSBLOG
Crawford Kilian began his H5N1 blog almost a year before AFD opened its doors, and while he started his newsroll/blog due to concerns over H5N1 he - like the rest of us - has expanded his scope to cover a wide variety of diseases and societal failings, in his blog.
Whether it's Ebola in central Africa, wildfires in Australia, institutional failures in healthcare, or the latest disease outbreak, you can count on Crof to provide not only the relevant facts, but also explore the enormous human impact of these events.
Virology Down Under
Dr. Ian Mackay - who began blogging in 2013 - provides Flublogia with a much needed, and greatly appreciated, level of scientific expertise. I'm delighted to say that he does this with humor, and an easy style, that doesn't intimidate the reader.
He makes virology understandable, even for lay people like me, and has been open and accessible to the community. Once again, he is a daily visit for me.
CIDRAP
The gang at CIDRAP have been incredibly supportive of Flublogia, and often cite our work in their daily news scans. Our success is due, in large measure, to their early and immediate acceptance of our work.
AVIAN FLU DIARY
This humble blog, began on a whim in January of 2006, and is about to enter its 14th year. While I cover infectious disease outbreaks, I also devote a good deal of this blog to reviewing research papers (mostly) on infectious diseases, and promote individual and community preparedness and resilience.
There are many other sources, including government agencies like the CDC, HHS, WHO, and the NHS which provide solid information.
Hopefully you'll visit all of these websites, and find enough value to entice you to return.
AVIAN FLU DIARY
This humble blog, began on a whim in January of 2006, and is about to enter its 14th year. While I cover infectious disease outbreaks, I also devote a good deal of this blog to reviewing research papers (mostly) on infectious diseases, and promote individual and community preparedness and resilience.
There are many other sources, including government agencies like the CDC, HHS, WHO, and the NHS which provide solid information.
Hopefully you'll visit all of these websites, and find enough value to entice you to return.
