App lets game players create and spread their own virtual disease

A popular new phone app is giving users a realistic look at a disease outbreak and the means taken to try to stop it.

For just 99 cents, smartphone users can download Plague Inc. and attempt to create a simulated disease and spread it throughout the world.

As reported by Bloomberg, health experts say the popular game could raise the public's awareness about the destructive nature of outbreaks and the importance for governments to maintain the resources to effectively track and combat infectious diseases.

With over 15 million downloads since its launch last year, the game has caught the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC has had the game creator speak at its events and allowed its name to be included in the game sending out mock alerts about a contagion.

According to the World Health Organization, rates of outbreaks of such infectious diseases as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV have leveled off in recent years, with higher rates found mostly in low- and middle-income countries.

Still, public health experts are working to prepare for the contagion they haven't seen yet.

Just four years ago, the H1N1 virus threatened to be a vicious worldwide killer. This year, a new strain of bird flu in China and a coronavirus sickening people in the Middle East have health officials on heightened watch.

Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHSjohnson