Influenza-like Illness risk before the next surge
Get cold, cough, flu, and respiratory illness trends weeks ahead of official reports.
Get cold, cough, flu, and respiratory illness trends weeks ahead of official reports.
CDC. (2024). Glossary of influenza (flu) terms.
CDC. (2025). U.S. influenza surveillance: Purpose and methods.
Covers influenza A and B, rhinovirus, RSV, parainfluenza, adenovirus, and more respiratory illnesses.
Ambee ILI forecasts up to four weeks ahead of official reporting.
Forecasts cover every US metro area with more countries on the way.
Receive the expected risk level for every week, and a surge alarm when a spike is likely.
Combines health surveillance and emergency department trends with weather and pollen conditions.
Forecasts update weekly to reflect the changing local conditions.
Ambee reports ILI risk on a 13-step activity scale calibrated to the CDC's influenza surveillance standard, so forecasts line up with what public health teams already track. For quick decisions, the 13 steps roll up into four tiers.
The surge alarm is a second signal that runs alongside the expected risk level. It flags weeks where ILI risk could jump to High or Very High, even when the expected level looks steady.
Ambee’s ILI forecast is built to move as early as the season does, and tested against a full season it has never seen.
Official health surveillance, emergency department visit trends, local weather and pollen conditions, and local ILI history are considered
The Ambee Climate Engine combines these signals for each area against its local flu, weather, and pollen history. Each run produces an expected level and a surge alarm.
The forecast refreshes every week as new surveillance data and environmental conditions become available, ensuring the risk reflects actual, on-ground conditions.
All forecasts are benchmarked against national surveillance reports to ensure accuracy.
Ambee's ILI data is benchmarked against actual CDC-reported risk labels for US counties. The January 2026 validation results are as follows:
Stage OTC inventory ahead of seasonal peaks, with 4 weeks of lead time to act without overcommitting in the wrong geographies.
Pre-position antiviral and symptom-relief SKUs by state and county before demand hits.
Trigger HCP outreach, consumer media, and promotional timing on rising ILI risk.
Surface location-relevant guidance, product prompts, and appointment nudges as ILI risk climbs in a user's area.
Anticipate illness-driven demand and plan staffing around regional peaks ahead of the season.
Instantly integrate Ambee Influenza-like Illness data into any workflow, available in any format.
import http.client
conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection("api.ambeedata.com")
headers = {
'x-api-key': "API_KEY",
'Content-type': "application/json"
}
conn.request("GET", "/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77", headers=headers)
res = conn.getresponse()
data = res.read()
print(data.decode("utf-8"))const http = require("https");
const options = {
"method": "GET",
"hostname": "api.ambeedata.com",
"port": null,
"path": "/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "API_KEY",
"Content-type": "application/json"
}
};
const req = http.request(options, function (res) {
const chunks = [];
res.on("data", function (chunk) {
chunks.push(chunk);
});
res.on("end", function () {
const body = Buffer.concat(chunks);
console.log(body.toString());
});
});
req.end();OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
Request request = new Request.Builder()
.url("https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77")
.get()
.addHeader("x-api-key", "API_KEY")
.addHeader("Content-type", "application/json")
.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();using System.Net.Http.Headers;
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage
{
Method = HttpMethod.Get,
RequestUri = new Uri("https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77"),
Headers =
{
{ "x-api-key", "API_KEY" },
},
};
using (var response = await client.SendAsync(request))
{
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(body);
}package main
import (
"fmt"
"net/http"
"io"
)
func main() {
url := "https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77"
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", url, nil)
req.Header.Add("x-api-key", "API_KEY")
req.Header.Add("Content-type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(res)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}<?php
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, [
CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77",
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET",
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
"Content-type: application/json",
"x-api-key: API_KEY"
],
]);
$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);
curl_close($curl);
if ($err) {
echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
echo $response;
}curl --request GET \
--url 'https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77' \
--header 'Content-type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: API_KEY'require 'uri'
require 'net/http'
url = URI("https://api.ambeedata.com/ili/forecast/by-lat-lng?lat=40&lng=-77")
http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(url)
request["x-api-key"] = 'API_KEY'
request["Content-type"] = 'application/json'
response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body{
"message": "success",
"lat": 40,
"lng": -77,
"cbsa_id": "49620",
"cbsa_name": "York-Hanover, PA",
"init_ts": "2026-09-19T00:00:00.000Z",
"resolution": "CBSA",
"country": "USA",
"timezone": "America/New_York",
"data": [
{
"epi_week_start_date": "2026-09-20T00:00:00.000Z",
"epi_week_end_date": "2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z",
"ili_risk": 1,
"ili_risk_category": "Low",
"ili_surge_alarm": 2,
"ili_surge_alarm_category": "Low",
"surge_expected": false
},
{
"epi_week_start_date": "2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z",
"epi_week_end_date": "2026-10-03T00:00:00.000Z",
"ili_risk": 1,
"ili_risk_category": "Low",
"ili_surge_alarm": 2,
"ili_surge_alarm_category": "Low",
"surge_expected": false
},
{
"epi_week_start_date": "2026-10-04T00:00:00.000Z",
"epi_week_end_date": "2026-10-10T00:00:00.000Z",
"ili_risk": 1,
"ili_risk_category": "Low",
"ili_surge_alarm": 2,
"ili_surge_alarm_category": "Low",
"surge_expected": false
},
{
"epi_week_start_date": "2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z",
"epi_week_end_date": "2026-10-17T00:00:00.000Z",
"ili_risk": 1,
"ili_risk_category": "Low",
"ili_surge_alarm": 2,
"ili_surge_alarm_category": "Low",
"surge_expected": false
}
]
}Sign up for an Ambee account and generate your API key from the dashboard.
Specify using latitude/longitude coordinates.
Include your API key in the request header. Receive a structured JSON response, integration-ready.
Real feedback from real innovators
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Common questions about Ambee's influenza-like illness data
The ILI API delivers weekly cold, cough, and flu risk forecasts up to four weeks ahead. Each forecast week includes an expected risk level, a surge alarm, and a plain-language explanation.
ILI data tracks respiratory illness that resembles the flu, defined by the CDC as fever with a cough or sore throat. Ambee's ILI data builds on official surveillance, emergency visits, and local environmental trends to give a forward look at where risk is heading.
The surge alarm is a second signal that flags when ILI risk could spike, even if the expected level looks steady. In validation, it caught 86% of real surges four weeks in advance.
Each response returns the location, its metro area, and four weekly forecasts. Every week carries a 4-tier risk level, a surge expected flag, and an explanation.
Log in to the Ambee dashboard to get an API key and start making requests. ILI data is also available through cloud marketplaces, S3, SFTP, and shapefiles.
Seasonal timing, weather, pollen, and local patterns of past illness all shape flu risk. Ambee's forecast combines these with emergency department visit trends, which tend to rise before official case counts.
Teams use the expected level to plan stock, staffing, and campaign timing, and the surge alarm to act early in the metro areas where a spike is likely.
Yes. The API returns structured JSON, and bulk data can be delivered straight into your cloud storage or data warehouse.
