Using WeChat, a Chinese Social Media App, for Early Detection of the COVID-19 Outbreak in December 2019: Retrospective Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified in December 2019, when the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China. The once-localized outbreak has since been declared a pandemic. As of April 24, 2020, there have been 2.7 million confirmed cases and nearly 200,000 deaths. Early warning systems using new technologies should be established to prevent or mitigate such events in the future.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the possibility of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in 2019 using social media.

Methods

WeChat Index is a data service that shows how frequently a specific keyword appears in posts, subscriptions, and search over the last 90 days on WeChat, the most popular Chinese social media app. We plotted daily WeChat Index results for keywords r

SUBMITTER: Wang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7572119 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature