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NASA helps CDC track spread of diseases | 11.12.2007 | 08:50:46 | Views: 6298 | ID: November 12 '07: NetworkWorld reported last week that NASA has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to help track and monitor the spread of diseases using a network of 14 orbital satellites. Through the Applied Sciences Program "data [are] collected daily to monitor environmental changes. That information is then passed on to agencies," like the CDC. Officials at the CDC will use the NASA-driven data to "predict and track disease outbreaks and assist in making public health policy decisions. The use of remote sensing technology helps scientists predict the outbreak of some of the most common and deadly infectious diseases such as Ebola, West Nile Virus and Rift Valley Fever," NetworkWorld continued. The technology used in the satellites to monitor the spread of diseases also "provides information about possible plague carriers - such as insects or rodents - globally and within the U.S. The Four Corners region, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, is a highly susceptible area for and Hanta virus outbreaks, and by understanding the mixture of vegetation, rainfall and slope of the area, scientists can predict the food supply of disease transmitting vectors within the region and the threat they cause humans."
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