Waiting to be approved by Apple

May 4, 2009 09:01 GMT  ·  By

Developer IntuApps is preparing (hoping?) for the approval of a Swine Flu Tracker app for iPhone and iPod touch, a tool that will enable every handset owner on the planet to successfully zig-zag through the hotbeds of the infection. The app will be distributed free of charge, following its approval in the App Store.

“Under our IntuApps brand, we released a new iPhone app that has data on the Swine Flu outbreak,” Barry Schwartz, blogger and application developer, says. “Let me take you through the app, which has yet to be approved by Apple.” Barry goes to post screenshots and key features of IntuApps's Swine Flu Tracker app, mentioning stuff like:

– Threat Level Page, a web page that takes info from the WHO's threat level page; – Mapping Swine Flu cases through a Google Maps RSS feed; – Clickable Map details, by clicking on a pin, you can read more details; – Swine Flu Alerts pulled from WHO, CDC and HealthMap Twitter accounts. “We actually used Yahoo Pipes to consolidate the feeds and host the RSS,” Barry explains.

If you want to be notified the instant Swine Flu Tracker.app is live, leave a comment with Barry (with your email address). Alternately, check back with us – we'll also be keeping our eyes peeled for new App Store approvals. You can document yourself on Swine Flu by reading the summary below.

About Swine Flu

Swine Flu (medically referred to as Swine Influenza, and also called pigfluenza, hog flu, and pig flu) refers to influenza caused by those strains of influenza virus that usually infect pigs and are called swine influenza virus (SIV). The transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is not common, while properly cooked pork poses little to no risk of infection. However, the 2009 swine flu outbreak, clinically identified last month, is an epidemic of a new strain of influenza virus. The new virus strain is a type of influenza A (H1N1) virus – swine flu – and is currently a phase 5 outbreak, one level below an official pandemic.