Fighting Swine Flu Online

The Health and Human Services Department declared a public health emergency on Sunday due to a limited outbreak of swine flu in California, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and New York, as well as Canada and New Mexico.

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said at a White House Press briefing on Sunday that the declaration of a public health emergency "sounds more severe than really it is. This is standard operating procedure and allows us to free up federal, state, and local agencies and their resources for prevention and mitigation. It allows us to use medication and diagnostic tests that we might not otherwise be able to use, particularly on very young children; and it releases funds for the acquisition of additional antivirals."

The White House press secretary urged the public to stay calm and don't panic, and a good way to reduce panic is to use a wealth of online tools to track the extent of the outbreak and the federal response.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a handy widget on its Web site, which any organization can add to its Web page (or blog) to push swine flu information. CDC also offers a widget that allows cell phone users to tap into emergency SMS text messages it sends out.

The home pages of CDC, HHS, DHS, as well as the federal umbrella pandemic flu Web site all feature the same prominent links that detail the status of the current outbreak and what people can do to counter the flu - and not infect others.

Widgets, text messages and Web sites won't prevent swine flu, but they sure can help prevent panic by quickly disseminating accurate information.