Detecting and monitoring foodborne illness outbreaks: Twitter communications and the 2015 U.S. Salmonella outbreak linked to imported cucumbers

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how Twitter data can be used to detect and monitor foodborne illness outbreaks, specifically analyzing the 2015 Salmonella outbreak linked to imported cucumbers in the U.S.

Contribution

It introduces a social media-based approach to track outbreak communications and correlates Twitter activity with official CDC announcements.

Findings

Twitter activity peaked after CDC announcements

Social media can provide real-time outbreak signals

Twitter data aligns with official outbreak timeline

Abstract

This research uses Twitter, as a social media device, to track communications related to the 2015 U.S. foodborne illness outbreak linked to Salmonella in imported cucumbers from Mexico. The relevant Twitter data are analyzed in light of the timeline of the official announcements made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The largest number of registered tweets is associated with the period immediately following the CDC initial announcement and the official release of the first recall of cucumbers.