News: Are you about to enter a "sick zone?" A new app will tell you.

The daily commute gets all the more perilous in the winter, when crowded buses are potentially full of coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing in close quarters.

Luckily, a new app is coming to the rescue.

Sickweather, as the name implies, forecasts the chances of illness in your area.

As their website explains, "Sickweather scans social networks for indicators of illness, allowing you to check for the chance of sickness as easily as you can check for the chance of rain."

In other words, if there are a lot of people in your neighbourhood tweeting about having the flu, feeling sick, or anything illness-related, the app will let you know that you’re in a sick zone.

You can also find out which of your friends are sick by connecting the app to your Facebook or Twitter account.

When I connected it to my Facebook account, I got this message: "Seriously? None of your friends are sick? That’s pretty awesome. We did our best to comb your feed, but everybody seems to be in good health!" (Well, either that – or they just don’t share their symptoms with their social networks.)

Either way, this app does have the potential to reduce the spread of illness, if those that use it become extra vigilant about hand-washing and boosting their immunity before entering a "sick zone."

Would you use this app? Do you think it would help you avoid getting sick?

-Katharine Watts, associate web editor

Related:
‘ Which Canadians get the flu first?
‘ 4 natural ways to prevent and treat a cold
‘ 9 ways to boost your immunity