A new application for the iPhone may help veterinarians track the spread of infectious diseases like the H1N1 virus and West Nile virus.

Outbreaks Near Me was developed by John Brownstein, an assistant professor at Children’s Hospital in Boston and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues. The application is based on a Web site called HealthMap, launched last summer, which scours the Internet for disease-outbreak information and compiles it on a customizable map.

The new application will collect reports from news media and the public about new outbreaks of infectious diseases, and users will be able to set alerts when new outbreaks are reported in their area.

Outbreaks Near Me can be downloaded for free on iTunes. Click here for more information