Utility of Google Trends in anticipating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in Poland

Henry, Brandon Michael; Szergyuk, Ivan; Oliveira, Maria Helena Santos de; Lippi, Giuseppe; Juszczyk, Grzegorz; Mikoś, Marcin

doi:10.20452/pamw.15894

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Finally, the pathognomonic COVID-19 symptoms of "smell loss" and "taste loss" displayed relative stability and no significant trend to suggest a positive correlation of these symptoms with the Lambda variant. This is in contrast to previous results published by our team, in which we have shown strong association between SARS-CoV-2 incidence and anosmia or dysgeusia 7,8 Since being first identified in Peru in late 2020, this new SARS-CoV-2 lambda variant has now spread to countries across South America, with cases now being detected all around the world. 12 Among the many mutations associated with the lambda variant, a novel spike protein mutation (L452Q) within the receptor binding domain may offer greater capability to bind to the virus human host receptor (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2)) and escape neutralizing antibodies produced from naïve infection, vaccination, or therapeutic antibody cocktails.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple previous studies, either by our group or by other teams which have investigated the trends in online search patterns within the context of regional COVID-19 outbreaks, have consistently shown that the frequency of Google searches of pathognomonic and non-pathognomonic (i.e., general) symptom keywords and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data have a strong relationship, through which their temporal association enables predicting future trajectories of epidemic based on internet search volumes in a period of time, as well as the demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing and test positivity. [7][8][9] However, this depends on consistency of symptoms over time and may also be influenced by emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants with distinctive biological and clinical characteristics (i.e., higher virulence and/or pathogenicity, immune evasion, greater stability, and so forth).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 Over the course of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we have shown that infodemiology, which utilizes the volume of Google web searches for specific COVID-19 symptoms (i.e. keywords), is effective and reliable for predicting regional epidemiological trends 7,8 and anticipating demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing 9 , assuming that symptomatology (i.e. the set of symptoms characteristic of a medical condition) of any emerging variants in the region remain consistent over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Symptomatology associated with the diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Peru: An infodemiologic analysis

Henry

Oliveira

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) Lambda variant rapidly diffused across Peru following its identification in December 2020, and had now spread worldwide. In this study, we investigated infodemiologic trends in symptomatology associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) following the spread of SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Peru, enabling infodemiologic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in regions with high circulation of this new variant. Weekly Google Trends scores were obtained for key symptom keywords between March 1st, 2020 and July 4th, 2021, whilst case count data were obtained from Peruvian Ministry of Health. Multiple time series linear regression was used to assess trends in each score series, using the week of December 27th as cutoff for emergence of the Lambda variant. The significance of such trends was tested for each time period, before and after the cutoff date. A total 2,075,484 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in Peru in relation to Google Trends data were analyzed. After Lambda variant emergence, searches for diarrhea demonstrated a change from a negative to positive correlation with weekly case counts and anticipated dynamic changes in case counts by 1-5 weeks. Searches for shortness of breath and headache remained consistently positively correlated to weekly case counts before and after Lambda emergence. No changes in searches for other common cold symptoms were observed, while no specific trends were observed for taste loss or smell loss. Diarrhea, headache, and shortness of breath appear to be the most important symptoms for infodemiologic tracking the current outbreak in Peru and other regions with high circulation of SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Symptomatology associated with the diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Peru: An infodemiologic analysis

Henry

Oliveira

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“… 1 In a recent report, Fantini et al have proposed an interesting health approach for anticipating COVID-19 outbreaks, based on an index of transmissibility (T-index), calculated from parameters of coronavirus binding to host cells. 2 Although this strategy seems indeed promising, previous evidence has been garnered that easier and more accessible tools such infodemiology, which relies on investigating the volume of Web searches for specific COVID-19 symptoms, may be effective in anticipating local COVID-19 epidemiological trends, 3 , 4 provided that symptoms caused by the emerging VOCs remain constant over time.…”

Section: Dear Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

Is diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern associated with different symptoms?

Mattiuzzi¹,

Henry

Lippi

2022

Journal of Infection

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“…Highlighted by Gunther Eysenbach, one of the four pillars to fight an infodemic is information monitoring (infoveillance) [6]. Ergo, numerous COVID-19-related infodemiological studies have been conducted worldwide to unravel the information-seeking behavior of the public [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. In Malaysia, Google is the main search engine with increasing number of Malaysian population utilizing it to search for information on common medical problems [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Infodemiology: Association Between Google Search and Vaccination in Malaysian Population

Kow¹,

Rafiai²,

Alwi³

et al. 2022

Cureus

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BackgroundIn light of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, vaccination is one of the most important defensive strategies in combating the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Vaccine hesitancy or anti-vaccination attitude has become a barrier to the nationwide vaccination program, potentially sabotaging the effectiveness of vaccination. Thus far, Google Trends (GT) has been used extensively for monitoring information-seeking behavior during the pandemic. We aimed to investigate the association between Google search, the vaccination rate, and the number of vaccinated and infected cases among the Malaysian population. Material and methodGT's customizable geographic and temporal filters were applied to include results for predetermined keywords from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. Both Malay and English languages were used to reflect the multi-racial and multi-lingual community in Malaysia. The search volume index (SVI) derived was compared with the numbers of vaccinated and infected cases which were extracted from the open-access database (COVIDNOW in Malaysia) within the same period. Both analyses were performed independently by two authors to ensure accuracy of the data extraction process. A descriptive analysis was used to compare GT analyses and the number of daily vaccinations and positive COVID-19 cases. ResultsThe information-seeking behavior in the public fluctuated from time to time. The interest surged during the initiation of vaccination program and upon the outbreak of COVID-19 in Malaysia. The surge in interest prior to the peak of vaccination rate also indicated that the public tended to get information online prior to getting the vaccines. ConclusionThis observational study illustrates the ability of GT to monitor the interest of vaccination among the Malaysian population during the pandemic. By monitoring the dynamic changes in Google Trends, healthcare authorities can get a glimpse of public perceptions such as attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine, hence potentially identify and stymie any dangerous online anti-vaccination rhetoric swiftly.

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Utility of Google Trends in anticipating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in Poland

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Symptomatology associated with the diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Peru: An infodemiologic analysis

Symptomatology associated with the diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Peru: An infodemiologic analysis

Is diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern associated with different symptoms?

COVID-19 Infodemiology: Association Between Google Search and Vaccination in Malaysian Population

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