SEARCHES FOR BIRD FLU ON THE INCREASE                                  

London, 17^th October 2005
The growing threat of bird flu across Europe has resulted in a dramatic increase in online searches by UK internet users according to Hitwise - the leading online competitive intelligence service.

200% increase in searches over the last week

In the last 4 weeks, searches on the term ‘bird flu’ have increased more than five-fold, whilst in the last week alone searches have risen by more than 200%. This spike in searches coincided with reports last week that the virus had now reached Turkey, as well as a warning from the government’s chief medical offer that a pandemic will inevitably spread from bird flu outbreaks and could cause the deaths of 50,000 or more people in the UK alone. In the last 2 weeks, searches on ‘flights to Turkey’ have seen a marked downturn and have fallen by 23%.

More than 560 variations of the term ‘bird flu’ being searched on

Hitwise Search Intelligence reports that UK internet users are searching on more than 560 variations of the term as they seek further information on the outbreak, with ‘bird flu symptoms’ and ‘bird flu vaccine’ among the most popular.

5 out of the top 10 sites currently receiving traffic from searches on ‘bird flu’ are mainly news sites, indicating that interest in the disease is mostly informational as UK internet users monitor its progress. The top website receiving traffic from the term is Google News (news.google.co.uk), followed by the US website of the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) and PRB Pharmaceuticals (www.prbpharmaceuticals.com).

Volume of searches on ‘bird flu’, 17^th September – 15^th October

Domains that received traffic on the term ‘bird flu’, 4 weeks ending 15/10/05

About Hitwise:

Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Each day, Hitwise measures how more than 25 million internet users interact with over 500,000 websites across 160 industry categories.

By measuring more people, more websites, more often, Hitwise provides marketers with timely and actionable marketing insights on how their online presence compares to competitive websites.  Companies use this information to maximize the return on their online investment, in efforts such as affiliate programs, search marketing, online advertising, content development and lead generation.

Hitwise collects internet usage information via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in panels, and complies with local and international privacy legislation as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Founded in 1997, Hitwise is a privately held company, headquartered in New York City and operates in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.co.uk

For up to date analysis on online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs at weblogs.hitwise.com.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Jannie Cahill
jannie.cahill@hitwise.com

Tel: 020 7378 3619