Public monitoring of a epidemic of human infection with avian influenza virus through Micro-blog and traditional internet media

Objective To analyze the characteristics of public monitoring of a epidemic of human infection with avian influenza virus in Guangzhou through Micro-blog and traditional internet media and compare the roles of Micro-blog and traditional internet media in public monitoring of epidemic. Methods The news entitled "Avian influenza in Guangzhou" or "Avian influenza in Hong Kong " from May 28 to June 11 were searched in traditional internet media and Micro-blog respectively and the news amounts of two media were analyzed. Results The concern of the public to the epidemic lasted for 7 days. Totally 1420 pieces of news and 3024 pieces of news were released from traditional internet media and Micro-blog respectively. The news peak of Micro-blog was one day early than traditional internet media. The traditional internet media's news releasing had one time effect, but the Micro-blog's news releasing would last along with the epidemic response period. Conclusion Micro-blog is rapid and sensitive media in news releasing. It is suggested for the government to use Micro-blog in public health emergency response to release relevant news timely and conduct public monitoring.